


Outbreak

by IreneWinlock



Category: The Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: Angst, Blood, Character Death, Developing Relationship, Drug Use, F/M, Past Child Abuse, Romance, Self-Harm, Slow Burn, Smoking, Swearing, Violence, ZA, Zombie Apocalypse
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-04-27
Updated: 2016-12-10
Packaged: 2018-06-04 18:23:08
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 11
Words: 50,070
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6669418
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IreneWinlock/pseuds/IreneWinlock
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Devin, a nurse practitioner in the midst of a zombie outbreak, meets up with Rick's group to help them do one thing: survive.  The only problem is that one person in the group swears she is going to end up killing him... either with her bow or her heart.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. I'm Devin

**Author's Note:**

> I hate having these author notes here, but it's a must. TWD isn't mine. This is just a fanfiction I wanted to write. Me and every other girl on the planet fell in love with Daryl Dixon and I had to write a fanfiction about him specifically. This is only the first chapter, I have two more already poorly written (just like this one), and it's an introduction to my character. About where she was when this all started. The next chapter will have Rick's group and this story starts in season 2. Gimme love or hate, idc. Just tell me how I'm doing.

I don't think anyone ever expected the end of the world. Yes there were people who took things seriously like doomsday preppers who had bunkers in their back yards, stocked with mountains of canned food, medical supplies, guns, and bottles of water that could hold them over for months or almost years. That's probably why the TV show got so popular. So the world can see just how crazy these people can be. Then people like myself, the zombie apocalypse aficionado, where I had an escape plan to get my friends or get supplies and meet them at the U.S.S. Lexington in Corpus Christi, Texas, we all read the Zombie Survival Guide, and we even had a cheesy 'Zombie Outbreak Response Team' sticker on our vehicles. People talked about how they were ready for the day the world turns to shit, just so they can play survival. I just don't think anyone was truly ready for what had come to pass.

I'm young, only 24 years old and I already have my Emergency Nurse Practitioner license. I graduated from high school at the age of 16 with an associate degree in liberal arts. I had attended a college preparatory school with summer classes and was able to do it all thanks to the help of my friend Dylan's Vyvanse to keep me up for almost three days at a time to get my shit done. After school work was done for the week, I'd usually end up taking another Vyvanse just so I could party all weekend. After high school came college and I immediately knew I wanted to be a nurse. I had the help from both of my parents, who were both working in the medical field, and they greatly approved of my decision to become a nurse just like my mother. Since I had my basics out of the way, I was able to focus on nursing school prerequisites which I was able to get done by the end of the same year I graduated and had turned 17. I started a BSN program in January then 3 years later I had gotten my license to be a Nurse in the great state of Texas, along with whatever other states that would accept my Texas compact license. I knew I wanted more though and just having my bachelor's wasn't going to cut it for me. So my professor, who loved me dearly and had great expectations of me, wrote my letter of recommendation to be accepted into a MSN program and I started the summer just before my 21st birthday. Xanax and Vyvanse were my best friends during this time as I had just started feeling the pressure of taking a person's life into the palm of my own to protect it and make it better. By 23 I had gotten as far as I thought I was going go in my educational career and walked the stage once again with a Master's Degree of Nursing Science with the ability to write my name as Devin Lacoy, ENP, BC.

Because of my status as a NP, I had… easier access to medications and ability to prescribe them. Especially pain medications. Me being with a loser, druggy boyfriend who convinced me to start stealing morphine and hydromorphone from my work so he could sell it, then me being convinced by him to start taking these meds, I got hooked. It wasn't hard to get hooked considering I had a history of drug abuse. In high school it was usually weed with the occasional cocaine or LSD, but I was also hooked Vyvanse and Xannies. My life was like that of Dr. House or Nurse Jackie. I'd grab about 15mg of oxycodone in the morning that I had taken from work the night before to start my day, then take it about every 4 or 6 hours, even while at work. I never had back and leg problems most nurses complained about, but I was spiraling down a dark path. I had been told time and time again in school that most nurses who got caught ended up getting their licenses suspended or taken away, but each time I got away with it, the bolder I got in the amount I was taking. Not even a year after getting my NP, a colleague, and professor that had gotten me into my MSN program, caught me red-handed stealing from the Pyxis. That look of disappointment broke me. I had gotten so far at such a young age and it looked like all my work was going to be flushed down the drain all because I wanted to feed an addiction. My professor had raved about me. How smart I was. How determined to go and get my NP. This man was my savior in getting into the ever competitive master's programs and I broke what good relationship we had. He surprised me and gave me an ultimatum though. He said he wouldn't turn me in, as long as I went on to get my Pediatric Acute Care Nurse Practitioner and to obviously stop stealing pain meds. He constantly told me of how good of a student I was and how smart I was that I needed to keep going with my schooling if not to get a doctorate at least another credential at the end of my name. Sounds fucked up though, right? Having a druggie work with kids… or anyone in the health care field in general. I don't know what he saw in me to make him know I'd listen to him and do it, but not even a month after being caught by him, I dumped my loser boyfriend and moved to Atlanta, Georgia to start a pediatric program and started work and clinical at Grady Memorial Hospital.

I was ready for my first night of work at the hospital. I had been doing clinical in the Pediatric ICU for the past two months, but something about going back to ER made me excited. It was my niche. It was my home. Getting ready for work never took any time at all. Some women would put on a full face of makeup trying to impress others while I just threw on some mascara, eyeliner, and my black thick rimmed glasses over my emerald eyes. There was no need to put on foundation and sweat it off. I could never keep up with that anyways and besides, my skin was just fine. I was a light tan color, darker than my parents which surprised me because my mother was Irish and father was French, with a smattering of light freckles across my cheeks and shoulders. Last, but not least, my dark brown hair was always tied up in a messy pony tail to keep it out of my face. I could never understand how some nurses and doctors could keep their hair down. Did they not know they dealt with blood and shit on the daily? Dressed in my blue scrubs, crazy neon green and purple Nike running shoes, and my white coat with my credentials stitched onto the chest, I was ready to go.

Halfway through my night shift, a child had come in with a bite mark to his right forearm that looked angry and infected. EMS stated that the mother had bit the child only an hour beforehand and I couldn't believe that the bite he had was that infected already. After notifying the doctor and her having a look at the boy she told me to get labs from the child before cleaning the site and stitching it up. The boy took the IV well which surprised me at the moment. I was so used to them crying, especially in the ICU, but who could blame them? Sending the blood off to the lab I got to work on cleaning the wound until the child started to have a hard time with his breathing. His saturation started dropping into the 80s which can be very dangerous, so I started the child on oxygen which cause his sats to jump back up into the 90s. After that everything seemed to go downhill for the boy. He became very feverish with a temperature of 103.2 degrees Fahrenheit to where I administered some Tylenol to lower the fever, but it didn't help and the child just got worse. Heart rate increased, BP tanked, and soon enough we had to call a code. The doctor called the time of death and we covered the body, waiting for transport to come in and take him to the morgue.

That was the first child I had ever lost in my nursing career. I had to sit in the breakroom and collect my thoughts. I never wanted to work with children. Ever. Sure I liked kids, but this was why I didn't want to work with them. I didn't want to see them die. I don't know what my professor, and even my nursing best friend, saw in me telling them I should work with kids. Yes, I was good with them, but it was parents I didn't want to deal with. Also the fact that kids died just as easily as adults did… As my headache got worse thinking about what I could have done to save that child, the ER seemed to pick up as the commotion outside the door got louder. I decided it was time to go back out there and do my job and as soon as I walked out I heard a mother screaming two beds from where I was. Other nurses and even security was there, trying to help out with what was going on. I saw two nurses pulling back the same boy that had just died, getting him away from the mother that was sitting in the room with a frightened look; and with a bite mark on her leg.

The chain of events went from there. As soon as we finished restraining the boy, the doctor was trying to figure out how this child was still alive, while another nurse was already working on the lady that got bit and it seemed the cycle went from there. I knew something wasn't right. Then after a nurse had got bit… and turned, I left and didn't show back up to the hospital again. I never went in for my ICU clinical rotation the next night. There was no way I was going back to that hospital. I had sworn an oath to help those in need, but I was selfish and worried about myself above all else.

I knew what this was. I played enough video games, read enough books, and watched enough movies to know what this was. I always joked I'd be a hero and be able to get through what was going on like a badass, but I knew deep down that if I didn't get supplies and get the fuck out of the city, I'd become one of the dead. I grabbed my work backpack, filled it with clothes, water bottles, canned food, my homemade first aid kit with other medical supplies, five packs of cigarettes, and I jumped in my old dodge pickup truck to the nearest gun shop. I didn't have very vast gun knowledge, but my dad had taken me out while I was in high school to the gun range… at least a couple times. My dad and I had frequently gone out and shot bows, so it was never that hard for me to catch onto shooting guns. I at least knew how to shoot them… sort of. Apparently I wasn't the only one who had bought a gun that day and supplies were getting ready to run low. I bought a handgun and a rifle with enough ammo to stuff in my bag and not weigh me down too much. It seemed that pandemonium had started to break out in the city and I needed to leave fast.

It's all radio stations could talk about. People being bitten. People being shot well over 10 times and still not dying until a shot to the head happened. People being quarantined into neighborhoods to prevent infection outbreak. CDC currently working on cure for virus that was being spread. It seemed that in two weeks all radio stations went dead and everything just seemed to stop… working. During those two weeks I was hiding out in my truck in some Georgia country side. The city got too hectic and overrun. People were attacking other people, robbing every store they could see, and setting buildings on fire. Martial law had been put into effect and military forces seemed to have gone into every city, killing anyone they thought was infected with the virus. In the country side I tended to park next to other vehicles that looked abandoned and tried to stay away from being on my own out in the open. Military vehicles often patrolled, driving around looking for survivors I assumed. Or infected. Whoever they could shoot first. People seemed to have gone rogue and losing their minds over everything.

The night after I had abandoned my job as a nurse I had called back home to see if any friends or family were alright. Both my parents, who were both in the medical field, never responded or called me back… I only did receive a text from one of my old college roommates and he had told me he was fine and with his mom and sister about to leave Texas and then my nursing school best friend was with her husband and children at their home in tiny ass Verdi, Texas. With me being in Georgia, it seemed our zombie escape plan had to be radically modified… Within a month all phone communication was down and internet seemed to be nonexistent anymore.

Within the end of month the world ended, I found myself in a tiny little town, if you could even call it that, named Senoia which was almost an hour south of Georgia. It took a full month to get down there. Evading military, people, and the dead was proving to be hard work and I just knew my string of luck was going to run out at some point. I don't think I had ever been so afraid in my life. I have been faced with death a few times. When I overdosed on cocaine and almost died I had to admit I was scared. When I was beaten to the brink of death by an ex right after high school graduation I was scared. But, I don't think I have ever been faced with fear. A fear that chills you to the bone and makes you freeze and then when your life flashes before your eyes in the form of the undead trying to take a piece out of you that adrenaline kicks in telling you to either kill or be killed.

My truck had to be abandoned unfortunately. It got caught in some mud out in the woods and I just couldn't get it out by myself. I was also happy to see that there weren't as many of the dead around either which made me relax, if only for a bit. After abandoning the truck there was a fence that I had found, cheap and made out of chicken wire, but I got through it without breaking the wire and assumed it was what was protecting me from the rest of the world. This fence also meant property, which either meant friendly folk or people that wanted to kill me so I'd have to treat lightly. Sure enough it lead to a two story white house with a green roof with the land surrounded by a wood fence and partial forest. I came out of the woods and examined my surroundings cautiously for signs of life. There was a barn and it appeared two love birds with talking near it, pecking each other every so often. They looked so young…

"Hey!" I called, getting closer to the couple. They turned towards me after hearing my voice. The blond girl ran off back to the house while her boyfriend clumsily pulled out a gun aiming in my direction. "Shit…" Holding up my arms I slowly walked forward. If he was going to try anything funny I'd attempt to put a bullet in his head first. Kid was shaking so bad he would probably hit me in my thigh or arm before anywhere else.

"S-s-stop. Don't walk any closer!" The boy yelled, keeping his handgun aimed in my direction. I wasn't going to attempt to go against what he was saying and risk getting shot, so I did as he said, keeping my arms in the air to show that I didn't mean any harm. As this was going on four more figures ran out of the house and in our direction. I mumbled another curse under my breath, hoping I wasn't going to be dying this early. I just needed to talk to other people besides myself… for my sanity. Two men, each holding rifles at me, and two women standing behind them.

"What do you want with us?" One of the men asked. He was an older gentleman, most likely in his 70s, with white hair dressed in slacks and button down shirt with suspenders. He was probably the owner of the land and farm. I hesitated momentarily before speaking up.

"Sorry to come up here like this. I just want a place to rest for a bit." I stated, exhausted beyond belief, now that I was thinking about it. I haven't really slept well the past month. I probably slept 2 hours a day at most. That was if I was lucky too and in a good spot. I hadn't showered either and looking down at myself I smiled sheepishly. "Maybe a shower or bath would be nice too?" I asked eyeing the new strangers warily.

The elderly gentleman paused a moment, staring at me as I grew more tired of standing in the hot sun. He slowly nodded his head, pulling back on his gun as the others followed suit. "Maybe we can work something out."

I smirked, flopping my hands down on my thighs and letting out a laugh. It was almost weird to be talking to another human other than yelling at one another with false threats. "I'm Devin."


	2. Who the Hell Are You?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Devin finally settles into the Greene farm, but new arrivals rock the boat after she comes back from a hunting trip and she has to pick back up pre-apocalyptic talents to help them out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I will try not to do these author's notes every chapter I swear. I'm only dishin this chapter out so fast because the first chapter is the introduction to the new character and while this one is still... a little bit more about her, Rick's group finally arrives! So there ya go. I'm surprised this got so many views and some people actually are following it and favorited it... I'm happy with that. Reviews would be nice too, but whatever. Enjoy.

I eventually did work something out with Hershel. That was the name of the elderly gentleman that was kindly holding a gun up to me. He and his family weren't so bad. I was allowed to stay as long as I fended for myself and helped out around the farm. I had plenty of canned food to last maybe another two months so I lived off that while staying in practically a broom closet. I didn't mind though. It was a bed after all. A place to lay my head. It was more comfortable than in the truck where the old cloth was torn up, now reeking with zombie blood, gunshot residue, and other foul smells from my lack of general hygiene this past month.

My first day there they allowed me to finally take a shower. It had been just about a month since the last time I took one. This whole outbreak happened so fast and out of control. Once I stepped into the steaming hot, hot, shower I could have possibly let out a moan that was the equivalent to an orgasm. All the dirt, blood, and grime that had built up, circled in the drain below. It made it seem that this living hell went away as the water became clearer and clearer. But it's not. Nothing has changed. Nothing will change.

As for helping out on the farm it included… not killing the dead. Otis, a big country man that lived in Hershel's house with his wife Patricia, and I were in charge of going out and getting zombies to bring back and shove into the barn that were on the land. Apparently Hershel just thought they were sick and that a cure would be out in a matter of months. Yeah, right. If only. It made me roll my eyes at the thought, but I went along with the plan without question. I didn't want to risk getting kicked out of something that is potentially good for me… unless I get bit by a zombie doing my job. It was usually just Otis doing this job by himself, but he frequently told me it was much easier with my help and thanked me profusely every time we went out. He even didn't really use me that much. I was basically bait for the zombies while Otis followed them along with the help of those animal control poles. Other than the odd job, it wasn't so bad living with them.

Hershel has two daughters that live in the house with him. Beth is the blond love bug of the kid who held a gun up against me whom I found to be named Jimmy. Beth and Jimmy are young each 16 and 17 respectively and are high school students… well were anyways. Hershel's other daughter, whom I get along with quite nicely, was Maggie. She is two years younger than I am and said she was about to go back to college before this whole thing started. Apparently she took a semester off to give herself a break and see her dad and sister a little more before going back. I don't know what brought Maggie and I to be pretty close, if it was our age, or the fact that we both got into trouble when we were younger, mind you Maggie just did a little shoplifting and smoking, but it's nice to have made a friend so fast in this scary new world.

A few days after my arrival, Maggie led me around the farm, showing me around. Bringing me up to the stable, I notice there are two horses and they look very healthy and well taken care of. There were bags of feed everywhere and hay bales in another stall where a horse would have been kept… It just made me think how long all of this would last. How long will this world still have bagged horse feed, canned food, storehouses that haven't been wiped out, and any supplies still left within a fifty mile radius? When would this family have to move on to find new sources of food or supplies? How long would this last? Leading me to where the family kept saddles I also noticed a few guns and a hunting bow. I gasped seeing the bow hanging up on the wall and looking to Maggie wide eyed, who seems nervous at my expression. "Why aren't y'all using that thing?!" I practically shout, walking to the table against the wall, climbing up as old wood groaned while adjusting to my weight, and picking up the compound bow, pulling on it. The draw string was weak by how easily I was able to pull it, but I notice it could be adjusted to add more weight. A giggle. Turning my head to where Maggie stood all I can hear was her giggling at how excited I got seeing the beauty. I began to blush, feeling like I had to explain myself. "My dad was a big bow hunter from France. Not that he was popular or famous or anything, but he grew up around it so when I came along and was the only kid my parents had, my dad taught me how to use one of these."

Maggie only nodded her head giving me a big shit eating grin. If only I could smack that off of her. "Well we'll have to see if dad will let ya keep it. It's not being used by no one here. I don't know why you'd rather use one of those besides a gun though? They aren't fast." She said, her Southern twang in her voice, as she turned on her heel, heading out of the stable. I can only smirk at the new toy I possibly had my hands on, following after the brunette. What she didn't know is that this bow was fast, being able to shoot an arrow at 370 feet per second, silently. Guns were loud. Bows were good for stealth and it led to the possibility of me being able to hunt and get deer quietly. The only thing I had to do was figure out how exactly to hunt… My father never taught me that. Breathe in, aim, breathe out, shoot.

Jogging after Maggie we make it back to the house. Upon entering the kitchen, Beth and Patricia are preparing dinner. Beth smiles a soft smile at me before looking to her sister. "You know it would be great if you helped with cooking once in a while Maggie." Maggie just rolls her eyes while walking with me to the dining room where Hershel was sitting, reading the Bible. I was never a really religious person, but before eating with them we always did say grace and I was even put on the spot with starting one night. I did as good of job that was going to get done I suppose, but I requested that it never happens again. I don't really know what I believe in. All I know is that I want to live. I want to survive. I can only be accountable for that. Praying to some… thing, for help, wasn't going to bring me any.

Hershel looks up from his bible and gives us a small smile. "I see you found that in the stable?" I only nodded my head in response, looking at the bow in my hand. Am I really going to use this thing? Or did I want it to remind me of my dad? "You can keep that if you can hunt with it. It'll be quieter and won't scar any of the deer away." I look up, hearing the old man's voice. My teeth flash into a smile at him and I nod my head before I ascended the stairs to retreat to my room and play around with my new toy.

I got good with the compound bow. Before this shit storm started I would usually lounge around with whoever I was screwing around with and watch Netflix or play on the internet, but since all that is gone I spend a lot more time playing around with the bow. I already knew how to handle one because of my dad and have always been able to shoot it better than a gun, I'm assuming because there isn't a kick to it like guns have, so the only thing I had to worry about was maintaining it, fixing the draw string weight, and seeing if I could shoot it while on the move. Beth suggested that I try shooting it on horseback which wasn't really a bad idea

As far as hunting went along, I really suck at it. I can't track for shit and I always seem to scare off the deer. The Greene's now know that when I go out to hunt, I will be gone for about 3 days because I usually just climb a tree and keep a lookout for any deer that are out there. Otis showed me how to lay out rabbit traps so when I go down to take a piss, it's my time to check those traps out or set up new ones. Now almost two months into the zombie apocalypse I'm sitting in a tree in the woods outside of the farm, waiting for my moment to get a deer. I was about an hour and a half away from the farm this time around and there seemed to be more of the dead in the area than anything. They would groan, snapping their teeth as they walk underneath my tree. During this time I would stay perfectly still and quiet. They couldn't climb or anything, but I didn't want to risk them noticing me and scare off any deer that might pass by. The occasional gunshot in the distance never really bothered me. It just reminded me that Otis was probably out hunting as well and it usually caused the dead to head in that general direction, leaving me a zombie free area so I could drag a deer back to the farm.

Just when I was about to jump down to take a little restroom break I caught sight of a young male buck nibbling on small patches of grass maybe about 100 yards away. I sat up and got into a standing position, next to the trunk of the tree. I had to act quickly if I didn't want to spook him. Drawing an arrow out of my backpack I readied to fire my bow, pulling back on the cable, holding my right thumb against my cheek, taking aim at the poor creature I was about to kill. Calming my breaths I wait for the deer to lift its head to observe the surroundings before I would end his life. As my moment approached, I let out a breath before releasing my hold on the cable, sending the arrow flying and into the animals head as the body dropped to the forest dirt. After that the woods seemed to become even quieter. The woods knew that death was in the air. Fresh death. It was a shame the poor thing had to die, but could have been a worse death for the animal. Its death could have been slow and painful once the walkers would eventually get to it. Jumping down from my perch in the tree, I was still excited. I was going to be going home a day earlier than I originally thought. Making sure my pack was on tight and slinging the bow over my arm I grabbed the young buck by his horns and trudged him all the way back to the house with the two other rabbits I caught slung over my neck.

Stepping out of the woods and back into the clearing close to Hershel's barn I stop, spotting a RV, motorcycle, and a couple new cars by a patch of trees close to the house. Hershel doesn't make new friends this fast. Sure he did with me, surprisingly, but he frequently spoke on how wary he was around other new faces. And new people were obviously on the farm, but the big question was if they were friendly or not. A small handful of them seemed to be standing around outside and I knew none of them, meaning that the Green family was inside, safe, or something much worse. I crouched down in the tall grass, making my way over to the group. I seemed to be getting good at crab walking these days with trying to keep my steps quiet. I still didn't know what I was going to do once I got to them. I needed to figure out what my best course of action was going to be. I had my bow out and ready to draw at any moment. If anything I could kill one of them without making a sound before the rest found out and got in a tizzy about it. I pull back on the cable, drawing the bow back and prepared to strike just as soon as Maggie came out the back door, heading to the group. "Hey dad just wanted me to let y'all know dinner's ready and you should come inside to eat." I heard Maggie say to two women as the rest of the new group looked at her like she was their savior. I let out a long breath, standing up suddenly causing two men to turn and point guns at me while another man to point a crossbow in my direction.

"Who tha hell are you?" The man with a crossbow questioned with a nice Southern drawl. He was a dirty looking man, although that's not too surprising seeing as how I came in pretty much the same condition, in mud covered jeans, and a plaid shirt with the sleeves cut off. He had a permanent scowl stuck on his face with a small amount of facial hair and short unkempt brown hair. The only thing this man had going for him was that accent, the arms holding a weapon to my face, and a pair of baby blues you'd think would be on the face of an angel. Not some mean looking redneck. I scowl back at him, keeping my own bow drawn back and pointed in his direction. "I live here ya fuckin redneck. Back off. I should be asking y'all that." I hiss, turning my attention to the other two men holding up guns in my direction. One man had on a sheriff's hat with salt and pepper hair that was cut close to his head and holding up a revolver. He had a pair of kind blue eyes and was wearing a shirt with a sheriff's star. So he was a cop. Sheriff. Whatever. The man looked extremely pale though, like he was sick or lost a lot of blood. The other man next to the sheriff had on a police hat and holding up a shot gun to me which made me more nervous than the other two. The exit wounds from those were much gorier than a bolt and revolver shot and much harder to treat.

"Put your weapons down right now." I heard Maggie scold walking forward to me, glaring at the men. I quirk a brow again, this time at her and she looked at me apologetically. "Nice fuckin welcome back Maggie." I said, releasing the cable of my bow back and throwing it over my shoulder, motioning for her to follow me back to the wood so she can help me grab the deer and rabbits I had abandoned. "Well we weren't expecting ya back a day early." She joked helping me pick up the deer and bring it back towards the house as the same men eyed us carefully. As Maggie and I carried the young buck between the three men, the sheriff came forward offering to help, which Maggie told to back off because he was weak. "Y'all got names?" I ask, while huffing as I attempt not to drop the buck. Dragging a 150 pound buck for almost three hours and then crab walking through almost an acre of tall grass was wearing down on me. The guy with a shot gun handed the sheriff his gun before coming to help out, taking Maggie's end. Fucking asshat. "Rick's the sheriff. My name's Shane." He introduced attempting to flash a charming smile. So he went to Maggie's side so he could stare at me and flirt. Douchebag. I rolled my eyes at the grin and turned my head to the redneck who slung his crossbow over his shoulder before walking over to take my end. "Daryl." He mumbled as I strained to hear his gruff voice. As he stood next to me to grab the bucks' horns, I had to look up a little to meet his gaze. Blue topaz meeting green emerald. Woah. Turning my head away I mumbled a small thank you and walked to Maggie. "Thanks for the help boys. Just take the deer to that shed over there to the left of the." Maggie said, wrapping an arm around my shoulders while I could sigh, and rub my face. "Yeah, thanks… We'll get Otis to clean it later." I said, looking tiredly up at Maggie with a smile. She gave me a frown which only made me raise a brow in confusion. "Otis ain't around anymore." She informed me, making my eyes go wide. As Daryl and Shane set the deer in the small shed, Shane came back out, placing his hands on his hips. "He went with me on a run for medical supplies and sacrificed himself to let me get back here with supplies in hand." My brow furrowed as I crossed my arms under my chest, biting my upper lip. "Why do we need medical supplies?" I ask, turning my attention to Maggie who only looked to Rick as the sheriff cast his blue gaze downward. "My son's hurt real bad."


	3. Scars

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There seems to be a few people in Rick's group that's hurtin, but some are more accepting of help than others.

A lot can happen within two days. Apparently on my first day out hunting the gun shot I had heard had in fact been Otis who had shot at a deer. Unfortunately that bullet went straight through the deer and into the stomach of a 12 year old Carl Grimes. That same day Otis and Shane had gone out to the local high school to get medical supplies at a temporary medical trailer to bring back to help the poor boy and Otis had perished while on the run which surprised the hell out of me. Shane had made it back in the nick of time, allowing Hershel to perform a surgery with anesthetics. The rest of Rick’s group had just came up today after finding out how successful the surgery had gone and that Carl was doing well with his recovery.

It took a lot out of me to not run in to see how Carl was doing. I guess it is the fact that I have a medical background and I just wanted to make sure the boy was alright. Gunshot wounds, GSWs, were trauma, and I was all about trauma. As soon as I entered the house that calm I originally had was gone and I found myself rushing to the room that the boy was in, pushing past his mother as nicely as possible. Which probably wasn’t very nice at all. It may be the end of the world, but it was only two months after the end of the world and I was still a nurse who had just worked with children four months before that. The Greene’s had no idea that I was a nurse prior to these events. I don’t know why, but I wanted to keep that hidden for the time being and only help out when I really needed to. Like right now. As I got into the room with Carl, the young boy looked up to me looking as pale as a ghost. Walking over to him I sat down, flashing him a sweet smile, which seemed to calm his nerves a bit. “Sorry to be barging in here like this. My name is Devin.” I introduce holding out my hand to him. Sure he was 12, but little boys liked to be treated with respect just like anyone else. It also made them feel like they were a man in that situation too. The boy took my hand in his and introduced himself to me, grinning ear to ear. Cocking my head to the side I pulled my backpack off and set it on the ground. By this time it seemed all of Rick’s group came rushing inside and I wasn’t receiving pretty looks. Even Hershel and Maggie came in to see what was going on.

Turning my attention to the now large group in the room I blush momentarily, before scowling at the group. “Hershel he needs blood.” I state, digging through my backpack and finding my purple stethoscope down at the bottom still in its bag with my blood pressure cuff. I would have pulled that out too if it weren’t for Hershel’s cuff sitting on the bedside table. Hershel and Maggie watched me wide eyed as I placed the blood pressure cuff on Carl and put the diaphragm of my stethoscope over the crook of his arm, checking his blood pressure. Hershel walked over shaking his head as I said the low number. “His father is the only one with A+ blood and Rick is going to start having real problems if he gives up any more blood.” I looked to Hershel, then back to the boy, flashing a huge grin. “Well ain’t you in luck boy. I just so happen to be able to help out here. Hershel, I’m A- so we can give him mine.” Hershel smiled at me and began to set me up to transfuse my blood. The boys’ mother, whom I found out her name is Lori, looked worried and stepped forward, ready to protect her son. “Isn’t that going to cause him problems? Aren’t you not supposed to mix blood like that?” Shaking my head I pulled up the sleeve of my shirt on my right arm to give access for Hershel to stick the needle in. “A- blood can be given to A+, AB-, and AB+ blood. Just like B- can be given to B+, AB-, and AB+. Just think that negatives can be given to positives, but positives can’t be given to negatives.” I explained wincing lightly as Hershel got the needle set and the blood began transfusing. Hershel was impressed with my knowledge and wiped his hands on a cloth. Rolling my eyes at the man I bit my lip lightly before speaking. “Don’t look so impressed old man. Two Anatomy and Physiology classes in college and my mom being a nurse doesn’t count for a lot.”

After giving what Hershel felt was enough blood he disconnected me and told me to go lay down and Maggie would bring me something to eat later. Making my way downstairs I noticed Lori, Carol, and Beth in the kitchen preparing dinner. Beth looked up at me, smiling softly. “You should be resting after giving blood like that.” Beth was a sweet girl. Sometimes it seemed she didn’t like me, but other times she’d say something like that, that made me know she cared in some way. I only nodded my head to her, flashing a small smile, and made my way outside, wanting to see if Jimmy would skin the deer I brought home. Making my way to the small shed next to the house I heard someone grunting, making me assume someone was already in there working on the deer. Upon entering the shed I saw the redneck, Daryl, skinning the dead animal. “Oh thank god someone is doing this.” I said, leaning up against the entrance to the shed. The man turned to me, eyeing me for a moment with those steely blue eyes. “Ya shouldn’ sneak up on people like that.” He grumbled going back to gutting the poor animal. I only let out a small laugh, crossing my arms under my chest. “Most of the dead that walk around don’t talk ya know.” He only grunted, shaking his head as he ripped the knife through the deer. “Yeah and there’s more out here that’s dangerous than just those walkers.”  
Feeling that the conversation was over I stepped out, thanking him for cleaning the deer, and headed up to my room like I was supposed to. Heaven forbid Hershel finds out I did the exact opposite of what I was asked to do. I make my way upstairs to my room that Hershel so graciously provided me with and turned in for the night.

Waking up the next day I realized it was late morning and quickly threw off the covers. I was supposed to help with fences today and I knew Hershel was going to be upset with me being late. Throwing on a pair of ripped up skinny jeans and a tank top, I hopped down the stairs while putting on my black boots and headed out the backdoor. I noticed Lori and Carol were hanging laundry on their makeshift clothesline. They both seemed comfortable and at ease with each other and on the land. I knew that Hershel was talking about kicking them off the land, but Rick wants to wait until Carl is up and out of bed and after they find Carol’s daughter Sophia. Maybe the next time I go hunting, I’d take a little time to look for the girl. Making my way over to the pair of ladies slowly, I bit my bottom lip before talking. “Y’all know where Hershel is?” I asked, watching them turn to me and blushing as they both flashed me kind smiles. I can deal with patients and talk with them easily, can deal with whatever bullshit they spit out at me, or even deal with unnecessary flirting, but when it came to normal conversation outside of work I always feel like I’m interrupting or being annoying. Lori’s smile widens some more, slowly walking over to me. “I saw him by the stables where the horses are at. Maggie went with Glenn to go into town to pick up supplies so he was helping them get horses ready. That was a little over an hour ago though. Nodding my head I was about to turn away before she grabbed my arm. “Thank you… for giving Carl your blood. Rick had already given him so much that he was going to pass out if he gave anymore. Carl is looking a lot better today too. Thanks to you.” I smiled lightly, nodding my head to her.

Looking to the left of Lori I motion with my head to Rick and Shane walking up. They both seemed to be a little upset so Lori walked forward, greeting her husband while Shane walked past them. I was about to turn to leave until Shane told me to hold up. Will these people ever let me leave? Turning back around I cross my arms under my chest, causing Shane’s eyes to move down momentarily. Noticing what I had done I uncrossed my arms, placing my hands on my hips. “Can I help you with anything Shane?” I say with as much sarcasm as possible. He held up his hands up in defense, laughing. “Woah, where’s this attitude from?” I raise the corner of my mouth into a smirk. “It’s just my usual response when I catch people staring at my chest.” He laughed, rubbing the back of his head. “Sorry about that. Man’s natural reaction I guess when seeing a good lookin woman.” I could only glare at him, watching his shit eating grin grow wider. “I don’t think that’s true. I think it’s an asshole’s natural reaction, but not a man’s.” I heard the whistle from him by my comment and then a chuckle. He was eyeballing me and I knew he was just peeling off my clothes with his eyes which only made me self-conscious. Flirting would be easy if I had a little liquor, but Shane wasn’t really my type. My type was… well Daryl I guess. White trash, redneck, country, or whatever. Maggie had a nice country twang and a farmer girl at that, well farmer’s daughter, and she could possibly be my type, but sadly she was only into men. Bitch. 

“Ya got a lot of tattoos there Devin.” Shane commented, looking at my arms. I looked down at myself and gently rubbed the back of my head. That was no lie. I usually wore long sleeved shirts, but thinking about being out in the sun all day with Hershel made me want to dress for comfort. Shorts would have been ideal, but I didn’t have any and I’m pretty sure my fat ass wouldn’t be able to fit into anything Maggie would lend me. I was shaped like a pear with average breasts, a C cup usually depending on the bra, but my hips and ass were quite large so I’d have to go out and get shorts at some point if I wanted to wear them. Whatever. Thick thighs save lives, ya know. Although being in the presence of Shane, I don’t think I’d want to be wearing shorts around him. Shane took a few steps up to me, grabbing my right arm and turning it palm up, and looking at the intricate tattoo I had there. “What’s this one?” He asked, tracing along with the pattern there. I knew he was flirting, but I no one ever touched my tattoos. Well that one anyways. So I yanked my arm out of his grip and looked down. “Sorry, maybe I’ll explain at a different time. I need to go help Hershel with his work.” I smiled while turning on my heel and making my way towards the horse stables. 

I stayed with Hershel until Maggie and Glenn came back on horseback. I watched as both of them hopped down off the horses and Glenn excuse himself to go find his group leaving Maggie and I to help unsaddle the horses. Occasionally I’d hear her giggle which caused me to look up from what I was doing and spy her blushing face behind the horses’ neck she was brushing. “You get a little taste of some fried rice?” I ask, only making her laugh in embarrassment and her giving me a look of disbelief. “Is it that obvious?” She asked only making me laugh and nod my head. “Looks like you got your hand caught in the cookie jar. So tell me, how was it?” She wouldn’t answer though. She would avoid the question by acting like she was so caught up in what she was doing that I let it slide for a little while. Once we finished brushing the horses we made our way back towards the house at a slow pace. “Was he any good?” I asked again, trying to get some kind of response from her. Maggie could only laugh and shake her head. “I ain’t telling you that. We’re not in high school.” Rolling my eyes I gave her a look as we were about to ascend the stairs of the porch. “Yeah right, I know you want to. You look like you’re about to burst at the-” Just before I could finish, yelling in the distance caught our attention. Turning towards Ricks’ camp I saw Andrea, standing on top of the RV with binoculars, yelling frantically at Rick and a few others. Telling Maggie I’d go check out what she was yelling for I made my way over to the RV, watching as Rick, Shane, and a few others run off to go check out what was in the field. Andrea informed Dale and myself it looked like a walker and she claimed she was going to take it out. “Andrea, no! You know Hershel’s rule!” Dale said, climbing up the RV as Andrea got into position on her stomach, took aim, and fired causing Dale and myself to flinch. We then heard Rick yelling ‘no’ and Andrea looked through her scope again. “Oh shit.” She exclaimed, telling Dale to get out of her way and that we needed to head over fast. “What’s going on?” I ask her as she runs, pushing past me. I turn my attention back to the house, watching as Hershel and is family come running out of it and towards where I stood. “It’s Daryl. I shot Daryl.” Andrea said running with Dale towards the group. I inwardly groaned at the comment and turned to Hershel who finally came up next to me asking what was going on. “We need to get some supplies ready. Apparently Andrea shot Daryl thinking he was a walker.” I mumbled, jogging back to the house, just needing to get out of everyone’s way and have supplies ready. 

I didn’t know how extensive the damage was. It seemed just as I could only grab some antibiotics and bandages, Rick and Shane were already placing Daryl on the bed. Noticing his hands on his side, I began pulling up his shirt, causing him to grip my wrists tightly and prevent me from checking out where he was guarding. “Move your hands or I can’t help you.” I growled, pulling my wrists away and ripping his already torn shirt off. Bleeding was still present at his torso and I grabbed his hands pressing to the wound with my hands on top. “Arrow pierced you?” I ask, starring up at Daryl as Maggie ran in with some hot water and what looked like hydrogen peroxide and Hershel getting ready to douse the gauze I had brought up with the antiseptic. The redneck only managed to nod his head, gasping as I made him press harder into the wound. “Tryin to stop the bleeding, almost there. Is the arrow head still stuck in you, or you get it out?” Shaking his head he growled as his hand was removed to press the hydrogen peroxide soaked gauze pad pressed into the front of his torso. “It’s out.” Maggie tended to the graze that was on his temple while I began holding another gauze pad to the other side of his abdomen. “Looks like it didn’t hit nothing too important, so we’re just gonna make sure this bleeding stops and get you patched up and some pain meds.” 

The damage really wasn’t as bad as I thought it was. Andrea only grazed his temple and his arrow didn’t hit any organs. He just needed to have the wound checked on 8 hours and dressings changed if there was any bleeding or drainage. “So, I’m waiting for you to tell me you were a nurse before this world came to be.” Hershel stated as I made my way to the kitchen after leaving Daryl to get some rest. Laughing I could only shake my head. “Might’ve been. Does it matter now?” The older man could only shrug his shoulders, grabbing supplies out of my arms to go put them away. “Not really. Just glad you’ve had training. Apparently… Lori and Carol will be cooking us a nice dinner to thank us for our help.” The older man mumbled, not seeming too happy about it. “Why does this sound like a bad thing?” I ask, crossing my arms under my chest and leaning against the door frame. The older man just shook his head, shooing me away to go get rest and thanking me for my help once again.

Dinner had come and gone and I attempted to help out with the dishes, only being shooed away and told I should rest. “You have no idea what a great help you were today Devin.” Lori spoke, flashing me a kind smile. Lowering my head, I smiled to myself. They thanked me too easily. I just did what any normal person would do. Right? Or have they come across that many people that would just leave them how they were? Is that why they were so persistent on staying around? I couldn’t figure out what was making Hershel so untrusting of these people. They genuinely seemed like nice folk and it’s not like these people go out of their way to harm us. Hopefully the old man would come around and agree to let them stay longer. Maybe another talk with Hershel was in order?

Excusing myself I made my way to one of the bathrooms we kept out supplies in that was close to Daryl’s room. I noticed Carol had brought him a plate of food, but that was over an hour ago and I was sure he would be done by now. With supplies in my arms I knocked on the door before pushing inside. His body jerked and pulled the blankets up, especially over his shoulders and back. I had noticed them the first time I took off his shirt… The scars. The long, red, dead tissue crisscrossed across his back and shoulders. It made me wonder what happened. By their age he must have had them a long time and couldn’t possibly have gotten them since this zombie outbreak came about. Clearing my throat I set my supplies on the bed behind him, taking a seat on the bed, causing it to dip. “Are you feeling alright? In any pain?” I asked, placing my hands over his where he kept the sheets in a vice like grip. I ran my thumbs over his fingers, gently prying them away from the blanket so I could pull it down to look at his bandages on his abdomen. He reluctantly let it go, knowing I needed to at least check the bandaging. Pulling down the sheet, I made sure to keep my eyes on the front of his wound to show that I was at least trying to respect his wishes. I asked if he was in any pain again and he only grunted, making me roll my eyes. “That’s not a very accurate answer. On a scale of one to ten, what is your pain, with one being no pain, and ten being the worst pain possible?” I asked, pulling off the bandage to check out how he was healing. “’ve been in worse pain than this.” He mumbled as I replaced the bandage on the front side of his abdomen. I shut my eyes momentarily and shook my head again before snapping. “I get that, but what is your pain? We have pain killers so if you’re hurting speak up now.” He only glared at me as I moved to the bandage that was on his back. “It’s a fuckin four if ya gotta know. I jus told ya ‘ve had worse!” I just scoffed as he gave me such a low number. This had to hurt more than that. He might as well enjoy a painkiller to at least help knock his ass out for a few hours anyways. 

As I replaced the bandage on his back I probably applied a little more pressure than I needed to the tender area as he let out another growl of pain. This only caused me to smirk as I reached up to check the bandage on his head, causing him to flinch. I frowned, starring at him, green meeting blue again, as I sighed. “Sorry…” I murmured, pulling the blanket over him again and this time, reaching slowly for the wrap on his head. He still flinched, but it wasn’t as pronounced as the first one, as I started to take off the bandage. Grabbing his face, gently, in my hands I tilted his head to view the graze and gave him a small smile. The feeling of his stubble on my palms tickled, but I felt myself wanting to run my nails down the scruff on his chin. He seemed to relax slightly as I ran one of my thumbs over his cheek “At least this one will heal quickly.” I mumbled, cleaning the small area before rewrapping it. He only watched me, warily, like an animal sizing up someone who was either predator or prey.

Finding the pill bottles on the bed beside me, I shook out the antibiotic from one and opioid from the other, before handing them to him with the rest of his water that Carol had brought him. “Better take that pain med. I know you’re lyin about your pain and it’ll help you sleep tonight.” I murmur as he took the pills from me, popping them in his mouth, and knocking them back with the water. He handed me the now empty glass and I set it on the food try before standing up. I watched as he burrowed under the covers again, shielding himself. “I’ll be back in the morning to check on you. Be careful if you have to get up for anything and come find Hershel or myself if you notice you notice blood saturating your bindings.” I said, placing the pill bottles on the table next to him and picking up his dining tray. He was still watching my movements carefully, like he couldn’t trust me. As I made my way to leave the room I heard him grumble a quick ‘thank you’ as he rolled away from the door.


	4. Chaos

It had only been twenty four hours since Hershel and I tended to Daryl's wounds the first time and from what Hershel told me, the redneck was well enough to go back out to his group instead of being inside. I personally didn't feel he was well enough, but I unfortunately didn't make the rules around the house. Daryl's side should still be tender and shouldn't be moving around too much. I was making my way to his room to check on him one last time, before kicking him out. Giving a quick knock on the door I walked in, pausing at the door as I watch as the redneck pull on one of his trademark cut off shirts. Looking down to give him space and walking over to the bed setting my supplies down, I noticed Daryl walking into my peripheral vision when I noticed his boots and jeans. Peeking up, he was buttoning up the top buttons of his shirt, standing close to me. "Ya gonna clear me doc?" He stated with a chuckle as I could only roll my eyes. I had probably checked on him more than I should have last night. After I checked him out after dinner that night, I'm pretty sure I did a quick check on him around three in the morning. Luckily he was asleep so I just left him be, but another three hours later he was awake and waiting for me it seemed. After checking on him this morning I probably came in every other hour after that. He didn't get annoyed with me though and even started talking little bit by bit to me. Not that we had any deep conversations, it was more of me asking him about his pain and what he wanted to eat and his answers.

Slowly reaching up my hands to his face, I cupped his chin with one hand as I began unwrapping the bandages from around his head to view that graze that the bullet had caused. His body tenses momentarily, before relaxing his face into my hand. I had to remind myself to move slowly around him, especially when touching him. He was a little more comfortable around me touching him now because he knew why I was doing it, but I didn't want to make him tense up too much or make him uncomfortable at this point. There was no longer a need to clean the wound and putting a small band aide over it instead of a wrap would be preferred at this point. Reaching down onto the bed where the supplies were, I grabbed the small bandage and opened it, putting it on his wound. "That one's basically done, just keep a small bandage on it to prevent the scab from opening." I said as I motioned for him to pull up his shirt. I didn't rush him with this one especially and let him take his time as he lifted up his shirt. This one seemed to really make him uncomfortable as I began pulling off the bandage his body went rigid. It always made me wonder what had happened to this man that he would avoid touch so frequently. I flashed him a smile seeing the wound. "Lookin pretty good Dixon." I said as I touched the pink skin around the wound. It was still a little warm, but was healing quite nicely. I let my fingertips travel a little from the pink of his abdomen to light toned skin, feeling the softness under my touch. It's not like he was ripped like one of those men that used to go to the gym for two hours every day, but he did have the makings of abdominal muscle that had light skin stretched over them. He was much fairer on his stomach compared to his tanned arms and there was a scant amount of hair that traveled from his abdomen to below his pants. Not wanting to linger any longer at my staring, I began preparing a new bandage for him. I also didn't want to make him too uncomfortable with my touching. His steely blue gaze eyed me questioningly, looking at the patch. "If I were you, I'd still keep it covered, just in case if you're moving around a lot. Which is another thing you should not be doing. Too much activity will cause it to open back up, and I really don't want to deal with you again. Also it'll hurt like hell."

Pulling away as he dropped his shirt, he nodded at me slowly. "Sorry, I didn' mean to be a bother." He groused as I gathered my supplies once again. My mouth fell open as I looked in his direction with worried green eyes. "T-that's not what I meant Daryl! I just don't want you getting hurt again is all… Just take things slow will you? I know you're trying to find this girl, but you need to be in top condition to do so. I wasn't trying to say you were a pain to deal with. You're actually a more pleasant person to take care of than most…" I mumbled towards the end of my sentence. I actually liked taking care of him. It was… weird. He was like an abused animal that just needed attention and to be shown kindness, when the world didn't seem to show him any. He eyed me with his steely gaze, making me blush, but I matched his gaze with my own. It was very slight, but I noticed the small upturn of the corner of his mouth and it was gone as fast as I noticed it.

He knew he had to get out of the house by how he was motioning for me to head out of the room. If it were my choice, his whole group would be allowed to stay inside. There was plenty of room in here and I just couldn't understand why Hershel wouldn't just let them have somewhere comfortable to lay down for a while. Daryl made his way towards the door and held it open for me, making me fumble with my supplies, and quickly slip through the door, under his arm. I had muttered a quick thank you and made my way to the bathroom we kept medical supplies. We separated from there, him going back to his group outside where I hope he will be will resting, and then myself off to find Maggie. Who I was sure was giving Glenn a hard time with her hot and cold attitude towards him. They just needed to… well I don't know. I guess have a lot of sex and just shut up.

I eventually did find the brunette in question, back at the stables once again. The only place she ever seemed to be these days when she was avoiding Glenn. I sighed, leaning up against one of the stall doors, watching Maggie brush the chestnut mare in front of her. "You're back to wearing long sleeves again? One day and you tap out?" Maggie noted after peaking at me. I tugged on the end of one of my frayed sleeves and crossed my arms under my chest. "Well maybe once that Shane guy leaves I'll go back to wearing tank tops. Just trying to keep a wandering eye from headed my direction." Maggie could only laugh, coming out from behind the horse, putting the brush up on one of the old wood shelves in the stall. "What about Daryl's wandering eye?" She asked with a giggle, making me glare at her which only caused her to bubble with laughter. "I know you went and checked up on him more than you needed to." Maggie continued, causing my face to continue to turn red. She was avoiding what she knew I was going to ask her about. "Besides, considering your last boyfriend was just about 30 years older than you, then the two before that 15 and 22 years older than you respectably, also from what you told me you dated those who were either redneck or country. I'd say that redneck there is so your type. Girl from Texas with boy from Georgia. Perfect southern match right there." She drawled, slinging an arm over my shoulders. "I ain't no country bumpkin like you Mags. I'm a city girl." I said with a smirk, leading her out of the stables.

She began to get quiet as we made our way back to the house. I knew something was on her mind. "So you gonna tell me what's going on with you and Glenn?" I ask, giving her a slight smile to where she only rolled her eyes at me and scoffed. Things aren't going well in paradise I see. "Glenn knows… about the barn. We were trying to find somewhere to… and well he went into the barn and saw them." I frown, biting my lower lip as I stare down at the hot ground as we head back to the house. "Is he going to tell his group?" I ask, praying that he doesn't. Maggie could only shrug as we disappeared within the house and to our separate rooms. This situation will cause problems for sure between Hershel and Rick's group. Shane was a hot head and I just know he'd be the start of everything. Tomorrow and these next few days will be interesting indeed.

Getting up the next morning seemed to be tough. I didn't want to move. I was stuck between being hot and cold. I missed having a fan in a room where I slept. One that I could watch until it helped me fall asleep or just kept the room cold enough to where I would have to curl into the blankets and sleep the day away. I missed working nights, or rather being awake in the night. I wasn't used to working in the heat or even to being outside much and I guess it's finally catching up. After hearing the front door slam for probably the seventh time that morning, I figured it was time to get up. Slipping on my jeans and long sleeved baseball tee I made my way downstairs watching Maggie pace the hallway by the entrance to the house. She glared up at me, making me raise my hands in defense. "What I do now?" I asked, raising my brows watching Maggie's light green eyes shift back towards the front door. "Glenn told 'em." She said, her voice filled with a mixture of anger and betrayal. I signed, rubbing my eyes and just felt like climbing back up the stairs and flinging myself in the bed. It will only be a matter of time before Rick or someone in his group come up here for Hershel. "I think I'm going to go hunting today…" I mumble, biting my bottom lip with worry, tearing a little bit of skin. Maggie gave me a look of disbelief, placing her hands on her hips, while I scurried upstairs to grab my pack and bow, not wanting to deal with the fuming brunette.

The world was cruel though. Just as I thought I was going to be leaving, at least semi-early in the day, Beth asked me to help her in the kitchen. When she gave me that sweet smile and those big blue eyes that were much too big for her face starring up at me pleadingly. I just couldn't say no. I wasn't going to be happy doing it though. Anything that had to do with kitchen work, I dreaded. It's not that I couldn't cook, it's the fact that I despised doing to job. Mostly because I hated doing dishes. It was my number one chore after dinner growing up. After mom and dad cooked the food, it was my job to clean up and do dishes. Which is what I was doing now. Washing the fucking dishes while Beth and Patricia meal prepped for the next few days. The Greene's had that nifty generator going that made the fridge work so they were able to store foods for a few days at a time. It seemed I spent my whole time slaving away with the dishes or helping them cut food that my day just passed on by to late afternoon. I could have been taking a nap in a tree five miles outside the farm, waiting for a deer to come by, but instead I was being domestic and cooking. Beth and Patricia both thanked me immensely though and now they had some free time before heating up some food for dinner. Beth had said she wanted to play checkers with Carl and said if it weren't for me, she wouldn't get to do that. Children.

Once I was dismissed from the kitchen, I made my way back to my room to grab my bag, bow, and handgun, ready to leave for a couple days. Maybe I was an introvert? I liked being alone a lot more than hanging out with people, but being alone just made me clear my head for a while. Making my way outside onto the back porch, I saw Beth, Patricia, and Carl, enjoying their game of checkers, and then I saw Glenn and Maggie sitting on the porch talking to each other. Finally. The rest of Rick's group seemed to have come up to the house together, Andrea with T-Dog, and Daryl with Carol, all wondering where Rick ran off to. Shane started walking up to the house, bag of guns in tow, and Daryl walked up to the man wondering what was going on. "You with me, man?" Shane asked Daryl, pulling out a gun and handing it to Daryl. Shane passed out weapons to the rest of his group instantly making the rest of us uneasy. I could tell what this was. Shane was planning on clearing out the barn. Lori tried to interfere, but shit just kept stirring up from there.

I noticed Rick, Jimmy, and Hershel coming out from the wood with two walkers in tow. My eyes were sure to have flashed with worry and I knew Shane saw too as he took a good look in the direction I was looking and went off running to meet up with them. What set in motion from here on out could have been described as chaos. Shane killing the walkers that Hershel and Rick were holding causing the group to flinch stare in shock. Hershel falling to the ground, Maggie instantly at his side. Shen opening the barn, breaking the lock and chains, releasing the walkers from the barn. The firing squad setting up, taking aim, and firing, killing every walker that emerged from that old wood door. The few seconds it took them to clear out the barn, seemed like it took hours. Until every body of the dead fell to the ground. The quiet that settled over was unsettling. I could only watch from where I stood, furthest away from the barn. Shocked at what had happened. I couldn't tell if they were in the right or not. Specifically Shane. As the group thought they were done, growling was heard behind the door and a small figured stepped out into the sun.

Shock was probably the best word to describe the looks that were given by Rick's group. A small walker that had once been a young girl, emerged, dirty and very dead. The blue shirt she once had on with a rainbow on the front was torn, muddy, and caked with blood from a shoulder bite she had obtained that had made her turn. Matted and frizzy light brown hair framed a gray skinned face and empty eyes. "Sophia?" The voice cracked, causing me to jerk and look to my side, watching as Carol pulled her hands up to her mouth. The middle-aged woman ran forward, calling the name again, and was stopped by Daryl, as he dropped his gun and they both fell to the ground. It was quiet, other than the sobbing that was coming from the mother, starring at her dead child, and the growling coming from the hungry walker. My eyes followed Rick, as he moved to the front of his firing squad, and pulling out his revolver. There was a pause. Then he pulls the trigger, watching as the body of the young girl they had been searching for falls to the ground.

Both Beth and Hershel were not taking what happened well. Hershel's belief shattered before his eyes and Beth just watched as her mother was shot, tried to kill her, and being shot again. Helping them inside, I assisted Beth to her bedroom, watching the poor girl break, tears falling down her face. Patricia agreed to stay with Beth and I walked out of the room, running into Maggie and Glenn in the living room. "Did you know she was in there?" Glenn asked Maggie, who only was sitting with a blank stare. She shook her head in response, before looking back to me. "Did you? When you helped Otis?" Maggie whispered. I looked down, brown hair falling in my face, and shaking my head. "No. It must've been when I went out hunting the day before Rick's group found us." I sighed, walking upstairs to my room when I set my bag back down. I wasn't going hunting. Not until this shit storm blew over.

They were going to have a small service out by the barn for Sophia, Annette, and Shawn. I didn't attend. There was no point considering I didn't know any of them. Funerals made me nervous. Death made me nervous. If my adrenaline wasn't pumping, like how it was when I worked in the ER and every move I made was life or death, I didn't want to be a part of it. Maybe that's what really spurred me on while at work? Was me being so nervous is what made me love it so much. So while they had their funeral service, a couple yards away, I started helping them out by putting bodies in the bed of the truck they were using. Carol wasn't at the funeral either I noted. I think I would have done the same. Their service was short and everyone separated, Andrea, T-dog, Rick, and Dale all came over to help me while Lori stood to the side as she tried to calm the group about what they were going to do from here on out. Andrea thanked me for the help and hopped onto the tailgate while T-dog slowly drove away as we all dispersed.

Not wanting to go back to the house I began to walk the perimeter of the land, not really knowing what to do. I just walked. It was hot and I wanted to just take my clothes off and lay in bed, but there was no way I was going back to that house right now. I didn't want to know how Maggie or Beth or Hershel were handling things and I didn't want to hear people talking. I just wanted quiet. Somewhere to think for a bit. I spotted Daryl out sitting down with his knife, by what looked to be an old chimney that was once connected to a house. He was sitting on a small curb, rubbing his knife over some sticks, making them sharp. Curious, I made my way over to him slowly, making sure he would be able to see me coming and not wanting to startle him. His blue gaze looked up momentarily, watching me for a moment, before continuing what he was doing once I sat down in the grass. I leaned my back against the side of the chimney as I grabbed one of the sticks he had just finished working on, playing with the sharp tip he had made. I stayed quiet, not wanting to talk. It was almost like being alone, but obviously not. I'm guessing this rough redneck would be good company if I just wanted a presence without conversation. I'm also guessing he didn't mind me sitting here either or else I am sure he would have told me to get lost. I closed my eyes, leaning my head against the stone wall, listening to the sound of his knife cutting into wood.

"Y'all moving into the suburbs?" A voice, Lori, asked as she made her way over to us. I jerked my eyes open and found her walking up. Did I fall asleep? Or was I just that out of it? Looking up from where I rest my head I eyed her while Daryl continued what he was doing. "Listen Beth's in come kind of catatonic shock and we need Hershel." Daryl grunted, shaking his head and focusing more on his task at hand. "Yeah, so what?" His gruff voice spilled out, causing me to turn my attention to him now. Lori squatted in front of him, both her arms on her knees with hands dangling between her legs. "So I need you to run into town real quick and bring him and rick back." A pause. "Daryl?" He finally looked up, halting his movements with the knife to give Lori a hard glare. "Yer bitch went window-shopping. Ya want him? Fetch him yourself. I got better things ta do." Lori's eyes widened as she leaned back on her haunches slightly. "What's the matter with you? Why are you being so selfish?" I dropped my head, hair covering my face as I saw the look that flashed across Daryl's face. "Selfish?" He asked, standing up and pointing his knife in Lori's direction. "Listen to me, Olive Oyl. I was out there looking for that little girl every single day. I took a bullet and an arrow in tha process. Don't ya tell me I ain't been getting my hands dirty! You want those two idiots? Have a nice ride. 'm done lookin for people." As Daryl finished his rant he sat back down, continuing what he was doing with his knife. Lori stood up, looking down at me. "Devin? You got any experience with this? I looked up at her, shaking my head, but standing up anyways. "This shock is probably different from septic shock, but I'll see what I can do." I said, walking with Lori back to the house that I didn't want to reenter.

I saw Maggie sitting on the bed with Beth, holding her hand. When she looked up at me, her spirits seemed to have lifted. Looking to Beth, pale and staring blankly at the ceiling, I knew she was depressed. Mourning over the loss over her mother and brother. The events that had just happened on the farm. "Can you help her?" I heard Maggie's voice croak. Shaking my head, I grabbed the blanket that was folded on the end of the bed and threw it around her before tucking her in. "No, I can't. She's gotta get through this on her own." I stated, looking down at Beth. This was a mental health problem. Not really something that I had looked into all that much besides my naturally curiosity. I did know there were different kinds of catatonia and the only thing I knew they used to treat with were benzos. I ran upstairs to my pack and pulled out my stethoscope and blood pressure cuff, bringing it back downstairs to Beth. Taking her blood pressure I noticed it was fairly normal, at least for someone Beth's weight anyways with it being 108/72. So it was sitting pretty well. "Hey Patricia, let's start an IV on her? Since she's feverish and her heart rate is up, her body's working harder, she needs to have fluids running." Patricia nodded her head, running off to find some normal saline to infuse while I went off looking for some kind of sedative to make her body not work so hard. I know Hershel was a veterinarian and animals used the same kinds of drugs people did and when I found that diazepam in the drawer in the bathroom we keep medical supplies in I wasted no time in giving Beth some through the IV Patricia had set up.

Maggie and I stayed in the room with Beth while Patricia went out and prepared a meal. Hershel had run off somewhere too and Maggie told me Rick and Glenn were off getting him. Sitting in the rocking chair in the corner of the room, I watched Maggie stroke Beth's blond hair out of the way. This poor girl. Her blank stare continued to look upward at the ceiling, no expression at all across her face. Patricia came in the room, informing us that dinner was ready. Maggie told me to go first and that when I was done to come back to watch Beth. Nodding my head I made my way to the dining room, sitting on one end of the table while Patricia set down a plate in front of me. Looking around the table I cocked my head to the side. "Where's Lori? And Daryl? He still cutting wood or something?" I asked looking around the table. Shane looked at Andrea and Carol. "Where is Lori?" He asked, standing up and looking in a few of the rooms downstairs. "I last talked to Lori when she found Daryl and me out a ways. We were just sitting out until she found us, telling us Beth wasn't doing well. I came back with her and haven't seen her since." I said, standing up to help look for the woman.

Our meal forgotten we went out and looked around the land for Lori. Carol followed me out to where Daryl had seemed to set up camp, away from everyone. He looked up spotting us and glared, making his hands busy. "Hey, has Lori come back out here?" I asked, crossing my arms under my chest a small distance away while Carol walked a little closer. He shook his head, grumbling under his breath. "Hell no. She ain't been here since she took you. I told her to go find her damn husband herself. I ain't no errand boy." He growled, giving me a harsh glare. I rubbed my head, forgetting that she might have gone off on her own. I mumbled a quick curse under my breath, turning on my heel and heading back to inform the rest of them. Carol stayed behind, but I didn't wait. I just felt it was better to leave Daryl to his own devices at this moment. He'd come around and interact with us soon enough. As I got further away I could hear Daryl's voice pick up, yelling at Carol. I could only imagine what they were talking about.

I stayed with Carl while he worried about the worst with his momma. We stayed on the porch, watching as Rick's group paced, and waiting for Shane's or Rick's arrival. Shane had gone off as soon as I had told him there was a possibility that Lori went after Rick. The boy leaned against me and I wrapped my arm around him, rubbing his arm and keeping him close. He was scared. Scared that his mom wasn't coming back. All I could do was hold the poor boy and give him words of encouragement. I didn't know if his family was going to come back and I wasn't going to promise they would either. Our attention turned to the headlights that were coming in the distance. Watching the lights pull up Carl jumped off the bench we were sitting on and ran up to the car Shane took to go and find Lori. Once Lori got out of the car her son went up and held onto her. "Where's Rick and Hershel?" Lori asked immediately, looking up to Shane after she glances around. Shane looks to Lori, running his hand over his head. "You wouldn't come back with me if I told the truth." Lori scoffs, grabbing Carl by the arm and led him to the house. "Asshole." Lori murmured taking Carl to the house. Shane flashed a look at Andrea and myself, running a hand over his face. "We'll go out and look for Rick, Glenn, and Hershel tomorrow." Nodding my head I made my way up to my room, deciding now was a good time to turn in for the night.

Waking up early the next day I had made my way downstairs to check on Beth with blood pressure cuff and stethoscope in my hands. Maggie was still at the bedside, speaking with Patricia, and I walked up to Beth, pinching the skin on her chest gently, watching it go back down slowly. "She needs more fluids… she's still dehydrated." I mumbled, peeking up at Patricia. The woman nodded her head, off to get another bag of saline while I wrapped the cuff around Beth's arm, checking the blood pressure as I did the first time I found out she was like this. It was slightly lower this time, with her systolic number around 98. Checking her heartrate I was pleased to know that it was still around 103, but hadn't increased at all. I stayed with Beth for about an hour after administering some more of the saline, then grabbed my pack to head out and help Shane and the others.

Walking outside I saw Daryl next to one of the vehicles, placing supplies inside. Shane and T-dog were a ways away, preparing their own equipment. Walking over to Daryl, he looked up at me momentarily, before continuing what he was doing. I leaned against the vehicle, arms crossed under my chest, as he filled the car up. I saw his eyes peek over towards me, then down to my chest, and then back to the task at hand. I smirked, noticing the movement of his steely eyes, but deciding not to comment on it and pushing my chest up a little more, leaning closer to him. "So you own actual shirts?" I comment, slowly moving my hand towards his sleeve of his shirt, tugging on it gently. He looked to my hand, quirking a brow, and looked back up at my face. "I can clean up when I want to." His voice gruff and manly, making me shiver slightly. I personally preferred the cut off shirts, watching as his biceps flexed and moved under his skin.

I was just about to tell him just that, but unfortunately Shane and T-dog finally made their appearance, tossing their supplies in the trunk of the car. "You gonna be coming with us today, Dev." Shane asked, giving me that ungodly, horrendous nickname. Well it wasn't that bad considering I used to go by that around famil, but I didn't want to deal with him calling me that. I gave Shane a tight smile, looking in his direction. "Yeah, whatever I can do to help." Shane smirked, giving me a look of great approval and motioned to the car. "Well get in, girl and we'll head on out." Closing the trunk, we headed towards the car doors, but stopped, hearing tires grinding over the dirt road in the distance. We all stopped in our tracks as the truck that was coming closer to the house, pulled up with an abrupt stop. Rick got out first and his family ran towards him, greeting him with a hug. Maggie came out the door of the house, gasping in delight and ran towards the truck, past her own father, and into the arms of Glenn. A little cold, but at least things settled down with them. I noticed another figure in the back seat and gave Rick, Hershel, and Glenn a nervous look. "Who the hell is that?" I asked, looking between the three men and the one sitting in the car. Daryl walked up next to me, getting a closer look at who I was referring to and Glenn was the first to speak. "That's Randall. He got hurt in town and we agreed to help him out."


	5. Huntin'

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Devin wants to go huntin, but it's hard when you don't know what you're doing. Luckily someone agrees to help her out by teaching her some basics.

Hershel motioned for Rick and Shane to place Randall on a clean table that Patricia had set up in the barn. The plan was to fix up this guy’s leg, which I was surprised about. I honestly thought it should be amputated, but Hershel said he would be able to fix it. The boy would walk with a limp the rest of his life, but he’d fix it up for him. It took about two hours of giving fluids, pain medications, antibiotics, and sewing to get Randall’s leg in good shape... well in as good of shape as it was going to get. Patricia and I got him settled a little more comfortably in the barn while Hershel went off to discuss what the plan was with the group at the house. I didn’t want to deal with what was going on in the house. I know I will never get away from arguing, but I wasn’t going to sit around and listen to it willingly unless if others needed my opinion. From the way things looked after people were leaving the house, the conversation didn’t go well. People were unhappy coming out of that house and tensions were high. Patricia and I gave uneasy looks to each other as we prepared for what Hershel’s plan was for the next few days.

Hershel said that it was going to take about a week for the ‘prisoner’ to be able to walk on his own. This was giving me the perfect time to take things easy. Hershel was back in better spirits and was making frequent visits to see Randall and sitting with Beth, trying to cheer his daughter up. This was the main problem that brought Hershel down was seeing his daughter so miserable looking. Beth didn’t talk at all during the time. She rarely ate or drank anything so Hershel kept her on the IV fluids to prevent dehydration, but Beth would be fading much quicker if she doesn’t get to eating soon.

During this week I was planning on going hunting. We were low on actual meat and I could only deal with fruits and vegetables for so long. I was never a vegetarian and hell would have to freeze over before I became a vegan. Thankfully eggs were coming out in the basket loads. There was just something about meat. No one was out processing a cow or pigs, so deer and small critters just fine right now. I did miss bacon though… and a nice juicy hamburger from time to time too. I had my back pack on and made my way out of the house, waving in Maggie’s direction in the kitchen. The brunette grinned and waved back to me, knowing that she’ll see me back in a few days. Things seemed pretty quiet on the farm as Jimmy and Hershel ran around fixing the fence or other things on the farm. Rick’s group seemed to be pretty tame too the only voices being heard are Shane, Rick, and Dale, trying to decide what to do with Randall in the barn. Shane wanted to kill the guy and I didn’t really blame him. He was a threat after all. 

As I got to the forest on the outskirt of the farm I pulled out my bow and made my way into the wood. I just needed to make my way a few miles out so I could sit up in the treetops and wait for a deer. I’d do my usual routine and set my traps for smaller game then climb into the tree and wait for deer. As luck would have it though, I spotted a buck a ways away and froze in an attempt to stay quiet. Pulling out a bow and setting up, I gently pulled the cord of my bow, sucking in a breath of air, took a step forward, and instantly deflated seeing the deer jerk it’s head up and begin to move. It didn’t get far though as its body dropped to the ground, dead, with an arrow through its head. I gaped, knowing that this meant someone else was around and I drew up another arrow, panic beginning to set in. I felt someone grab my arm which held my arrow and flinched, then moved to strike with my bow until another arm grabbed at me. I began struggling, feeling a hard body pressed against my back and a harsh growl. “Calm down, girl!” Hearing the rough tone of voice I immediately calmed down. Looking behind my shoulder, my hair obscuring my view, and emerald eyes met topaz once again. My body relaxed this time and when it did Daryl instantly released his hold on me, practically pushing me away to put space between us. “Why the hell did you grab me like that?” I almost yelled, glaring up at him. His eyes squinted into a glare as he bent down to pick up his crossbow. “If I hadn’ ya would’ve shot an arrow at me!” He yelled back, walking over to the dead deer and pulling out his arrow. “Now get outta here. Yer scarin’ off the animals.” He groused setting up his crossbow again. I noticed the squirrels and rabbits that were strung up and hanging off his belt. Seems like Mr. Dixon has been busy this morning. “Yeah and it was probably you that scared that deer away.” I murmured causing him to shoot a look in my direction. “With you walkin’ ‘round here in the woods I heard you steppin’ on every fuckin’ branch and set of leaves a mile away. You’re too loud. Why’re you even out here anyway?” He asked, waving his hand out to indicate why I was in the woods. “I’m tryin to fuckin hunt, but you’re takin my game!” I slung my bow onto my back and crossing my arms under my chest. He let out a rough laugh. It was a strange and almost scraggly sounding. “You can’t expect to hunt with you bein’ all loud an’ shit.” I only huffed, rolling my eyes. He shooed me away, waving his hand, basically telling me to get lost. There was no way I was leaving this. He practically stole my game! He owed me. “The least you could do is show me how the hell I’m supposed to go about doing this then.” I suggested, smirking as he turned his glare to me once again. 

We stayed quiet for a moment, just glaring at each other. “Teach me, so I don’t have to hide in a tree for three days at a time waiting for a deer to come by. Show me. That’s how you’ll make up for taking my kill.” I smiled sweetly, walking up to him, and cocking my head to the side, pony tail falling over my shoulder. He just continued to glare and shaking his head furiously, definitely not liking the idea. It’s worth a shot. I continued to walk up to him until I was standing in front of him, continuing my sweet, and very fake, smile. I watched as he brought up his thumb to his mouth, biting the skin around the nailbed. Was I making him nervous? I took a couple steps closer, my chest practically running against his arm and making him jump slightly and give me a worried look. I pouted my lips, the smirk still showing in my eyes. Blue orbs traveled to my lips momentarily, before the man took a step back and shaking his head. He just growled, turning on his heel and walked towards the deer, not saying a word. I took that as a yes and smirked, following after him to help him with the deer. We didn’t speak as I assisted him with the deer back to his camp. It didn’t take us long to get back to his camp which was a blessing. It usually takes me twice as long to bring a buck back to the farm by myself, but we were able to knock it out in no time. We just set the deer down, close to where he frequently made a fire and he took off his crossbow. “So when are we starting?” I asked, chipper and smiley, knowing it’ll get on his nerves. “Early morning. Before suns up. If you ain’t here I ain’t teachin’ ya shit.” He groused, taking off his long sleeve and cut, revealing his iconic cut off shirt. I smirked, nodding my head, triumphant that I had won. 

I couldn’t sleep that night. I was tossing and turning, impatiently waiting to go out to hunt. I had come back after only having been gone for about seven hours which surprised the hell out of Maggie at first until I explained what went on. She could only give me a twinkling smile which made me glare as I made myself scarce in the house, not wanting to deal with interacting with the others. Now as I was laying in my room, blankets thrown off because of how hot it was, I could only wait, my mind running wild. I guess I was waiting longer than I thought because I noticed the sky beginning to turn pink. Cursing loudly, I quickly changed into my jeans, grabbing my pack throwing it on my back, bow slung around my arm, handgun strapped to my hip, and a long sleeve shirt dangling around one of the straps to my backpack so I could put it on once I got out there. Rushing down the stairs I ran out of the house, trying to catch the surly man in time before he left.

I was so excited to see that Daryl had not left yet. He looked like he was about to though so I made perfect time. He had on a sourpuss expression like he always did and I knew he was not happy to see me coming up so late. I stopped in front of him, breathing hard, hands on my knees as I leaned forward to catch my breath. “Shit…” I heard the man mumble, slinging his crossbow on his should. “If you were any later I’d have left yer ass.” He grumbled, a look of what I could only equate to amusement at how I was breathing hard. I finally stood up, glaring at him and trying to hide my smirk. I pulled up the strap on my tank top up into place, dropping my pack onto the earth. His eyes watched my movement and he seemed to look me over once before looking up at my face. “Why’d you bring your pack?” Hearing his question, I quirked a brow at him, cocking my head to the side. “Why not?” I questioned back. He just shook his head, motioning for me to follow after him. I pulled on my long sleeve, then my bow and followed after the man, leaving my pack behind. 

I followed him a ways into the forest, probably about three miles, not running into anything. No wildlife. No walkers. It was very quiet actually. Not paying too much attention I ran right into the man’s back, almost falling on my ass. Daryl whipped around so fast I really lost balance this time and landed right on my ass. “Ow…” I murmured, glaring up at him while he glared down. “Pay attention, princess.” He groused, helping me up off the ground. Who the hell was he calling princess? I noticed that every time he touched me he would immediately pull away and give us distance. Daryl didn’t seem to be keen on physical contact, which surprised me and also upset me a little. I had been dropping subtle hints that I found him attractive. Not that I felt he should comment or act on them. I was just expecting him to at least not act like I had the plague.

He pulled his crossbow in front of him, readying an arrow. I pulled out my bow with an arrow that I had in my quiver that was attached to my compound bow. It was a nifty little attachment that Maggie had brought back from one of her runs with Glenn. It made things easier on me too and I didn’t have to worry about bringing around my pack like I did in the beginning. I could only carry five extra arrows on me, so I had to make them count and reuse whatever I shot out. He was in front of me suddenly, making me look up at his harsh gaze. What the fuck is his problem? “Do as I do, step where I step, and don’t make a fuckin’ sound.” He said, turning around again and walking slowly. 

His steps became much quieter compared to the sounds he was making almost stomping out to our location. He walked towards a tree, crouching down and staring at the ground, using his fingers to run along the cold dirt. “C’mere.” He grunted, motioning with a hand for me to walk closer. As I did he took my wrist in his calloused hand and yanked me down. At least this time I didn’t fall on my ass. The feeling of his hand around my wrist made me squirm as I crouched next to him, our bodies very close. “Feel this.” He whispered, opening my hand and putting it to the dirt gently. I could feel the indent of earth beneath my fingers and noticed the tracks; hoof tracks. Looking directly at them I could notice them clearly and nodded my head. “Deer tracks.” I murmured, looking up at him. He only nodded his head, releasing his hand from my wrist. “You can see and feel the tracks easily, meanin’ they’re fresh. Later in the day they’d be hard to see and you’d have to get at an angle.” He murmured, pulling on my shoulder lightly to get me to look at the tracks from a different angle like he was saying. I had a side view of the tracks now, with them still being very easy to spot. I knew that the angle would help view older ones as the sun would pick up on the indents later in the day. I only nodded my head, turning to look at him and blush at how close we were. The smell of him, not horribly unpleasant, invaded my nostrils. He smelled of earth, sweat, and something else. Something musky. Maybe just his own smell. He seemed to notice how close we are too as his cheeks tinted pink and he removed his hand, standing up quickly and once again giving us space.

I stood up too, trying not to be too fast in my actions because I knew he’d get upset by it. He motioned for me to follow him again as we made our way through the forest. He’d point out things here and there, telling me what I should look for when I was out hunting and reminded me time and time again, silence is key. With him ranting about keeping quiet I grabbed his arm, shushing him. He only glared at me until I got close, making him extremely uncomfortable, pointing with my bow in the direction of a deer in the distance. Daryl looked on, squinting his eyes at the deer that was there, while I pulled up my bow, aiming my arrow. Daryl took a step back, watching me as I prepared to take a shot at the animal. “Pull back a little more on your arm.” Her murmured, grabbing my elbow and pulling. I wanted to glare. I knew my way with a bow. I didn’t need help from him. Especially with this. “Shove off asshole.” I growled at him. Just as I was about to take a shot the deer ran off, making me want to scream. I turned to Daryl, eyes filled with fury wanting to blame him for the deer running off, but he had his back turned to me and crossbow was up.

This didn’t look good. I pulled up my bow again, standing next to him and eyeing him. He was serious and scanning the area quickly. “That deer ran from somethin’.” He murmured, motioning for me to keep close to him as I began following him, keeping an eye on our rears while he took point. “Keep quiet. Geeks might be ‘round.” He whispered as we began making our way in the direction we came from. Hunting at this point seemed be out of the question at this point and we decided mutually and without conversation that we needed to get back home. I heard growling to my right and both Daryl and I seemed to point our weapons in the same direction. There was only one of the zombies coming towards us, his face half ripped off and teeth snapping. I sent my arrow flying into the head of the walker, smirking at Daryl. “Don’t ever try to correct my form again redneck. I know how to use one of these.” I barked out as I jogged to go run and get my arrow from the zombie’s head. I’d have to mark it because I don’t think using this arrow to hunt deer would work now. No one still knew how this virus worked, but I didn’t want to contaminate any food I ate. As I was about to stand up when I heard another groan. My eyes shot up watching as another one of the dead practically ran at me, but it dropped to the ground as another arrow sunk itself in the walker’s head. Looking over my shoulder I watched as the older man lowered his crossbow, glaring at me. I decided to be nice and grab his arrow too, yanking it out of the head. Daryl met me halfway, taking his arrow back from me, cleaning the arrow with his red rag he kept in his back pocket, before setting it up again. “Thank you.” I murmured, receiving a nod from him.

We didn’t see any more walkers and he resumed his teaching. We eventually did get a deer and he even got a few squirrels. It was beyond me how he got them. They were too fast for me to even see and even if we were quiet he seemed to have an eye for them. I helped him carry the deer back to camp and deposited it where we left the deer the night before. “Alright. Let’s get to cleaning it.” I shook my head, giving him a look of bewilderment at his comment. I had never cleaned a deer in my life and I really didn’t want to. Shaking my head, he only glared, the brick wall chimney which held a pack of his own. Reaching inside it, he pulled out two knives and attempts to hand one to me. “Oh hell no. I am not cleaning this thing.” He walked close to me, grabbing my wrist again and placing the knife in the palm of my hand, making me close my hand over handle. “Calm down. I’m showin’ you how, so you’re not doin’ it alone.” I appreciate the fact that he was showing me how to do this. He was taking the time out of his day to do it which surprised the hell out of me. I really thought he would have fought tooth and nail to get me to leave him the hell alone yesterday, but this was nice. It was something other than him ignoring people and trying to get away from others. Daryl seemed to only ever talk to myself or Carol. 

I actually found myself having fun butchering the deer. I was used to healing wounds, not making them. It made me seem like a surgeon in some weird way. I don’t know if I would enjoy doing this alone though. It’s not my cup of tea. Daryl was making it fun though. He kept calling me princess every time I voiced a complaint about the job and as much as I hated the nickname, it was growing on me. As we finished up I looked down at the blood that was on me. I had originally rolled up the sleeves of my shirt, but they had fallen down in the process. Daryl on the other hand just seemed to wipe his hands on his shirt as he went along. I took off my long sleeve, wiping my arms and hands on it. I didn’t know whether to wash it or throw it away, but it had a place on the ground for the moment. I caught Daryl watching me for a while and once I had caught him he quickly averted his eyes. “Whatcha starrin’ at arrow?” I asked, making him quirk a brow at me and with a red face. “I was uh, jus’ lookin’ at yer tattoos s’all.” He said, looking down at the cuts we had just made from the deer and wrapping them in clean cloth. I did have a few on me. My vegvisir compass that was on the right inside of my forearm in all black ink. A lot of people asked me about this one, especially when I was working at the hospital. 

Walking over to him, I held my arm out, allowing him to see it. His blue eyes looked to my green ones, before looking down at the tattoo. He looked so confused by it, that it made me giggle. “It’s called a vegvisir compass. An Icelandic rune. It means ‘guidepost’ and I have always liked cultural and magical symbols, so I thought ‘why not?’. It’s supposed to symbolize a compass to help a person get through tough times. I… I had a bad run with drugs and abusive or lowlife boyfriends that, I felt that this was a good tattoo to get. Plus, it looks pretty cool.” I explained watching his eyes transfer from my own orbs to my tattoo. The lines of the tattoo crossed and intersected, and each line within the symbol was supposed to be a way to obtain, keep out, and take in energy needed to push someone in the right direction. “Also, I’m alive in this walker infested world, so I guess it’s working.” A quick uplift of the corner of his mouth made me smile.

“I obviously got this one because I’m a nurse. I got it when I graduated with my BSN.” I went on, pulling down the left strap of my tank top and bra to reveal a single heart beat rhythm made of flowers of different colors and types with the words ‘healing is not linear’ by the different waves. The top of the R interval always poked out of my tank tops so I wasn’t just flashing it to show the whole piece. He seemed to like listening to me explain them anyways… at least that’s what I got from him not telling me to shut up yet. His face tinted red when I pulled the straps down, but his face went back to a normal color as I had explained the tattoo. He pointed with his fingers behind his left ear. “Why the hearts?” He asked, surprising me slightly. My hair usually covered that one up, but I had a row of different colored tiny hearts behind my ear. This one had me blushing because it was slightly embarrassing to explain the hearts to someone. “U-um, well when I was in high school my roommate introduced me to a… video game and well, that’s why I have the hearts. Because of that videogame.” Daryl let out a chuckle, quirking a brow. “I wouldn’t take you for a nerd.” That comment only caused me to blush even more. Oh if only you knew… I had a few other tattoos that hinted to how nerdy I was. I usually made up stories for my other nerd tattoos and couldn’t understand why I wanted to tell him about my tattoos. 

“Well let’s get this meat to tha house. We don’ want it getting’ bad.” Daryl turned his attention back to the meat we had wrapped up. I grabbed my backpack and slung on my bow before grabbing some of the deer meat we cut up. We made our way back to the house in silence. It wasn’t uncomfortable to walk with him. I found out the deer he got yesterday, he handed the meat over to Rick’s group besides keeping some for himself. So the same thing happened here as well. He kept some for himself while the rest would go to the house, or Hershel’s group I guess we could say. “Thank you… for teaching me today.” I said to Daryl on the back porch after we put away the food. He was getting ready to head back to his camp for the night and I needed to thank him. I feel like words aren’t enough for this, but it’s the only way I can think of. “No problem nerd.” Daryl said, walking down the steps of the porch with corners of his mouth turned up.


	6. Cut

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What's supposed to be a quiet time on the farm gets a little crazy with broken glass and revealed past stories on old wounds.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heeeeyyoooo! Thank you for reading my shit fic this far! I hope you enjoy this chapter I guess. Some more Daryl x OFC time. Leave some comments. Constructive criticism. Whatever you want. Thought about writing chapters in Daryl's POV occasionally. Or thinking I should just change the to writing in 3rd person (of course I'd change all previous chapters too), but I haven't decided yet. Leave me love or just keep reading it. I get all excited to see Kudos pop up and more hits. So leave love yeah?

The week was up for poor Randall. It was a little amusing watching as Shane and Rick put a blindfold and some headphones with tunes playing as the pair threw the poor boy in the trunk of the car. They made their way out early morning, planning on putting quite a bit of distance between the boy and the farm, leaving the rest of us to our own devices. I hadn't interacted much with Daryl since we went hunting. He still stuck to his own space out some ways from Rick's group and when he was around it was usually to eat with them in the mornings or at lunch on Carol's insistence. Between him and I there would be the occasional glances to each other and a nod when we made eye contact. I hadn't even gone hunting since I last went with him either. Maybe I was avoiding hunting again in fear of having to cut up another animal.

After saying bon voyage to the kid I lounged in the porch swing that was on the back porch of Hershel's house. The fences around the farm were looking mighty strong at the moment. We had deer meat and other food to eat. Food wouldn't have to be harvested for another week and Hershel was already out there tending to the crops with Jimmy. There wasn't really much to do today and I was grateful for that. It was a hot day and made me thankful that we had finished chores up early for the week. This whole week seemed to fly by because of all the chores Hershel had me doing and it was nice to be able to kick my feet up and rest a bit. I know Hershel will have me doing something tomorrow, but for today I can swing away and listen to the wind pick up as I rest my aching feet by kicking off my boots.

Speaking of feet, I heard footsteps headed in my direction and wanted to open my eyes to glare out at them. I just wanted a little R&R was that so much to ask? Peeking with one eye open to the side I saw dusty old boots and worn black jeans with a couple holes in them. Looking up a bit more I saw a button up shirt, but the black cut over it that caused the corner of my mouth twitched upward. "What can I do for you Robin Hood?" I asked with a smirk closing my eyes once again. I heard his scoff as his weight leaned against the wood railing, causing the old wood to groan in protest. He didn't say anything which was just fine with me. The silence was nice every once in a while and his presence was calming in a way.

Hearing the back door slam closed, I peeked again to see who it was and saw Maggie coming out, looking absolutely exhausted. Sitting up on the porch swing, my right leg fell down to hit the wood porch deck. "You alright girlfriend?" I asked, watching as her light green eyes turned in my direction. They flashed momentarily to Daryl next to me, who was also staring at her, then moved back to me. She gave me a half smile, nodding her head, as she walked over and sat next to me.

"Yeah. Andrea gave me a break and is watching Beth for me for a bit. I just needed a break." She sighed, rubbing her eyes and leaning back on the porch swing causing us to sway. I noticed Daryl shift and saw he looked a little uncomfortable. Probably because I don't think he has ever had a conversation with Maggie before. Or even been this close to her. Flashing him a slight smile in hopes that it would calm his nerves, I turned my attention back to Maggie, rubbing her shoulder. She seemed to relax at that and leaned into the touch.

"Go find Glenn and get lost for a bit then. Take a walk. Have a talk. Eat something. Calm your nerves." I said waving my hand around for her to go have some fun with Glenn while she can. Maggie's eyes flashed between myself and Daryl before she stood up off the porch swing.

"Whatever, you just want some alone time with your guy yourself." She said as she walked back into the house, making me gape behind her. I could feel my face turning red and I looked down momentarily to hide behind my hair. I can't believe she said that! Especially in front of him. After I had come back from my hunting trip with Daryl she constantly teased me about it saying that we did more than hunt out there. As if. Daryl was too… shy for that sort of thing.

Peeking through my hair over at the man I noticed he was no longer leaning against the railing of the porch and was standing upright, attacking the skin around his left thumbnail. He was nervous and it made me let out a small giggle. Daryl glared at me with those beautiful blue eyes and I looked up to meet his gaze. It made me laugh again when he was red himself. "W-what?" He almost yelled at me, shaking his head as he was about to walk off.

Just as I was about to grab his arm to stop him from leaving me we both froze, hearing Maggie yell out Beth's name. I got up fast, moving past Daryl and into the house. Running into Beth's room with Daryl right behind me I saw both Lori and Maggie banging on the connecting bathroom door. "Beth?!" I yelled, running to the door, jiggling the handle and began banging on the it as well. Maggie looked to me frantically, her eyes widened with worry. "I heard glass."

"Hun, open the door!" I yelled again. Feeling myself being moved out of the way, I watched as Daryl had moved in front of us with a fire poker and opening the lock by wedging it between the door and doorframe, allowing the door to swing open.

We watched as Beth turned towards us, shard of glass in her hand, blood on her wrist, crying. "I-I-I'm sorry." She cried, looking down at the glass and not really knowing what to do. Maggie made her way inside, pulling the glass out of her hand and onto the floor and pulling Beth against her, arms wrapping around the small blond. I walked in after, grabbing a bath towel off the rack and holding it to Beth's wrist while Maggie comforted her sister with words. The young girl cried into Maggie's shoulder and clutching me with the hand that had once held the glass. Rubbing her back I turned towards Lori and Daryl, both just standing around.

"Hey Daryl can you go get Hershel?" I asked, pulling the two sisters into the bedroom and making Beth sit on the edge of the bed with me. Daryl left without a word while I looked up to Lori. "Where the heck did Andrea go?" I asked, peaking at the wound on Beth's wrist.

Beth looked up at me, tears still in her beautiful grey eyes. "I-I didn't mean to. I'm sorry Maggie. I'm sorry Devin." The young girl wailed, continuing her tears on the other brunette's shoulder. The corner of my mouth twitched up as I pat her back before gently, rubbing her back in smooth circles while holding pressure to her wrist.

Bringing my hand to Beth's free and uninjured wrist with my own free hand, I pulled it to my tattoo on my right forearm, the one with the Vegvisir compass, and made her extend her index finger. Taking her finger, I ran it down one of the tattoo lines that went up the middle of my forearm as I watched her expression change. "There's a scar." She said, voice small, moving the finger on her own this time. She looked at the tattoo more intensely now as she looked up at me with sad eyes.

"Yes. I got this tattoo shortly after I made that scar. Well almost a year after, but that was long enough for it to be seen." I said, turning suddenly hearing footsteps from Hershel, and Daryl. Eyeing them a moment I turned back to Beth as she sat up a little straighter. "You're not alone with this Beth. You'd be surprised at how many people have done this before, myself included. Unlike myself though, you stopped and feel bad about what you just did. Also you have family here who came and checked on you a lot quicker than mine did. A family that loves you and wants to spend as much time with you. This world might be messed up, but you still have family. You're not alone here in this scary world." Beth sniffled, nodding her head and holding Maggie harder. I checked her wrist again and noticed that her wrist wasn't bleeding as badly and I looked over to Hershel. "This needs stitches." I said, and smiled slightly when he had his bag in hand.

As Hershel took my place next to his daughter I stood up straighter and walked over to Daryl, planning on walking out to give the Greene's some space until Beth's voice stopped me. "Why did you…?" I turned to her, quirking a brow. I watched as the girl licked her lips before continuing. "Why did you cut yourself?"

"I-I um…" I stammered looking to those around me. I looked down momentarily, trying to calm myself before looking back up at Beth. "U-um… I graduated high school when I was 16. At the time I was with a guy and I decided to go to college in another city that was about two hours away. My boyfriend didn't like the idea. Didn't want me leaving. He tried to convince me it wasn't something I wanted to do… I don't know." I paused, biting my bottom lip and looking at the floor again. "He beat me. Attacked me. Almost a month before I went off to college. He said he wanted to hurt me bad enough to where I wouldn't be able to leave on time. While he was whaling on me, he told me his plan was to attack me a week before leaving, but he did it as soon as I said I wanted to break up with him." I looked to the Greene's, watching as Hershel worked on Beth's wrist as the sisters watched me. Maggie gave me a look of concern and it only made my lip tremble lightly. Crossing my hands over my chest I continued. "I spent almost a week at the hospital. My cheek was broken. I had bruised ribs and a cracked femur. I was on bed rest at home. I couldn't do anything and I couldn't understand why my boyfriend would beat me up for wanting to go to college. It made me depressed. I hid that well from my parents. Four days before going to college I… got a hold of a razor and made the cut. I was planning on doing the other arm too and just when I was about to my parents came in. They were both in the medical field. Stopped the bleeding. Took me to the hospital. Then when it time to go to college I went, was a week let in starting classes, but I went and had to see a psychiatrist." I ended, slowly creeping my way towards the door and next to Daryl.

Beth looked to me, her eyes holding unshed tears. "Th-thank you Devin. For helping me. And telling me your story." I smiled slightly and turned on my heel, pushing past Daryl gently and heading back outside. I walked out the front door though this time, because I knew people would be out towards the back and I could feel myself seconds from breaking down. I pushed through the front door and practically jumped down the stairs, raising my arms above my head and taking deep breaths. I heard footsteps behind me, walking down the steps. Turning my head, I saw Daryl, looking as uncomfortable as ever, but still in my presence.

"You don't have to stick around me 'cause you feel sorry for me." I said, wiping my face of the couple of tears that fell. I let out a small laugh, looking down at the ground. I heard his footsteps continue closer to me and I looked up at the sky, taking in deep breaths.

"I don' feel sorry for ya. Not at all." His gruff voice spoke out making me turn my attention to him and turn my body towards him. "You survived something. That makes ya strong. It's just the way ya tried to take yourself out. That was chickenshit." He huffed, his voice raising a couple octaves making me cross my arms in front of my chest. I sighed looking down again before looking back up into his ice blue eyes. He walked up in front of me, grabbing my arm and running his own fingers down my scar as if he was trying to verify that it was really there. Shaking his head, he made eye contact again. "Ya went through one beatin' in yer life and ya tried to off yerself. While some people go through it every day of their lives and keep goin'." I broke eye contact with him at this point and he stepped unbelievably close that when I looked up our noses almost touched. "It's hard to get beat down an' get back up. Even harder to continue gettin' beat down then havin' to get up over an' over again. Sometimes it's by yer own family! Not some little boy ya think yer in love with. Sometimes yer family hurts ya more than those around ya!" I could hear the crack in his voice as he spoke of family. How he suddenly got so passionate about this. He was breathing hard and I watched as his hands fisted at his sides. His blue eyes were hard to see by how he was glaring.

Our eyes me again. With tears falling down my cheeks slowly, I spoke. "You don't get to tell me what I did was chickenshit. I already know that. I've known that for almost ten years now. I also know I am strong Daryl. I am strong for surviving what my ex put me through and I am strong that I survived attempting to kill myself." I watched as his brows knit together as he listened to me. My lip trembled lightly as I lunged at him, wrapping my arms around him. He froze, becoming tense with my arms around his waist. He had his arms held out to his side, not knowing what to do with them and I am sure that our position together would look comical to others if they walked out and found us like this. "I am strong that I was able to get through college with anxiety and depression. I am strong that I was able to get over an addiction. I am strong that I am alive now, at the end of this world. I've been through more than just abuse from other people. I've been through abuse that I put myself through willingly. Stupidly." I mumbled, gripping the back of his jacket. "I am strong though. You are too." My voice quivered. "Whatever your family put you through, you got through it. You're strong too."

"You don't know nothin', girl." He growled, still keeping his arm away from me. His body was hard beneath mine I smiled lightly, leaning back to look up with him. I brought my left hand to my cheeks, wiping dried tears and then wrapping that arm back around him, watching his face contort slightly at the repeated touch.

"No, I don't know nothing or anything about you. Just the little things you let out." I said, looking up into his eyes and I watched as he went a little slack. Our noses brushed this time, causing my cheeks to light up. His hot breath on my jaw made me quiver again. I leaned in a little more, the feeling of his stubble brushing against my face. I saw him panic a little, his eyes going wide. He didn't move. Just stared at me, not knowing what to do.

The door on the porch opened and we jumped away from each other, flustered and red-faced. Looking up at the porch I saw Maggie give a look at us with a raised brow. Daryl stormed off, cursing, walking fast, and awkward and I could only laugh nervously and rub my head to look up at the other woman. "Sorry, I didn't know I'd interrupt something." She said with a smile that only made me turn even more red as I fixed my hair and pulled the loose strands behind my ears.

"How is Beth?" I asked, biting my lower lip trying to distract the brunette from what she just saw.

She smiled, nodding her head. "She's fine. I just wanted to tell you that she's doing better and daddy got her all fixed up and she's sleeping. Thank you for calming her down." She laughed, giving me a sly smirk. I eyed her warily and began walking up the stairs of the porch. "What was that about?" She asked, her country twang strong and in full force motioning back to Daryl who was long gone by now. I blushed, shaking my head and crossing my arms.

"I-I don't know. This has been a weird day." I said, giving her a nervous grin and walking around the wrap around porch to go retrieve my boots that were forgotten by the porch swing.


	7. Torture Isn't Your Forte

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The group deals with whether to kill or keep Randall. Devin confronts Daryl about his ways on getting information out of the boy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one is getting uploaded a little fast because I am on vacation and the fam and I drove up to see more family and that took 2 days in the car, so I had time to kill. A little boring and kinda filler like. I am trying to follow the show (if you couldn't tell already lol). I am getting to the end of season 2 and over 200 days pass between seasons 2 and 3. So we're gonna see what kind of trouble Rick's group goes through... or I might just jump into season 3, I haven't decided yet. So enjoy if you can, it'll get better soon starting next chapter! We'll have some walker killing action comin up soon!

The very same day that Beth had to have her wrist stitched up, Rick and Shane came back. Unfortunately, it was with Randall. And this had everyone who lived on the land worried. Rick, Shane, and T-Dog all brought Randall back to the barn and tied the boy up, locking him inside and Rick called for a meeting that evening before dinner. We were all standing around in the dining room, waiting for everyone to come up except for Beth who was resting and Patricia who was making dinner for the night. I was leaning against a table that was up against the wall next to the back door. It was small, unstable, and the only thing that rested upon it was a vase filled with fake flowers. Above the flowers hung a small oval shaped mirror with a dark wood frame surrounding it and hanging up on the pale plaster wall. I turned towards the mirror, viewing myself in it and cringed. My light brown hair was in a high ponytail that was knotted and strands sticking out all over the place. My bangs that once ran horizontal across my forehead at my eyebrows had grown out and hung over my eyes half the time, making me brush my bangs out of my eyes and behind my ears. I wasn't the cleanest I have been. I had dirt on my neck, felt wet and sweaty half the time, and was pretty sure I didn't smell my best either. Not that everyone around me smelled like Gucci perfumes and Armani cologne.

The backdoor that I was next to opened making me jump slightly as my eyes darted in the direction. Daryl stood at the door, eyeing me, face turning red as he saw me. I blushed, stepping to the side to allow him to lean against the table with me considering all the chairs were taken at the table. He moved next to me, doing what I thought he would and leaned on the table, causing it to groan and protest even more under both our weights. The table wobbled slightly, causing us to bounce off of it really quick, fearing it would break. We watched as the vase wobbled slightly, before settling back on the table. Looking up into his blue eyes I giggled quietly which caused him to quirk the side of his mouth upwards. His harsh expression was replaced by amusement, if only for a split second. His eyes darted towards everyone who was sitting at the table, before looking in my direction again. I quirked a brow again as he leaned, slowly, against the table and patting the spot I was leaning against moments ago. I smiled, doing as he instructed and looking towards Rick who was watching us like a hawk. My smile instantly faded at being caught with giving Daryl flirty eyes.

The group looked up at Rick and Shane expectantly, waiting for a reason on why they brought the boy back. Shane spoke first, "We brought him back because he said he knows how to get to the farm. He knows Maggie. Rick and I thought it was a bad idea to let him loose and he go back to his own group to let them know where we are at." He looked around at our faces then to Rick who only nodded. "We don't know how many people he has in his group or where they are at, but we are going to see if we can get any information out of him tomorrow." Shane finished, crossing his arms over his chest. Both him and Rick look beat up quite a bit and would probably need to be looked at. Checked over at least.

My attention turned to T-Dog who asked what happens if Randall wouldn't talk about his group. I felt the table shift behind me and looked to Daryl who cleared his throat. "I'll do it." I heard him grouse out. I quirked a brow at him, everyone else looking in his direction. "I'll get information out of 'im." Daryl clarified. Rick gave Daryl a long hard look before nodding his head. My brows knit together as I looked towards the redneck next to me. I watched as he sucked in his cheek, staring down at the ground. He was planning something to do with poor Randall. I shook my head, hearing we were dismissed, and watched as Daryl slipped out the door without a word.

We all woke up a little stressed the next morning. Maggie and I made our way out to the back porch and we noticed Rick's group were standing around talking and motioning to the barn frequently. Maggie proceeded to pull me along to the porch swing around the corner to sit down on it with her. I smiled at her, kicking off my boots to put my legs over hers causing her to make an ugly face at my feet. "What?" I asked, laughing and flexing my toes, stretching out the socks a little. "At least they don't smell." I offered making her laugh and hitting me in the arm gently. I grinned, leaning my left shoulder into the back of our seat as I attempted to fix my hair.

"What do you think is goin' on in there?" I heard Maggie ask, motioning her head towards the barn. I looked over to the direction she was talking about, making me shrug my shoulders. I really didn't know. Daryl was a tough badass, but I didn't think he was capable of torturing answers out of people. I looked down at my hands in my lap, twiddling my fingers, playing with my nails. I wish I could paint them. I had never been able to have really nice painted nails. Working at a hospital requires you to wash your hands frequently, causing nail polish to chip and look unprofessional, so I've never really had the chance to make my nails look pretty. Not that it really mattered now anyways. "So what's with you and Daryl?"

The question caught me off guard and my eyes flashed to the brunette in front of me who giving me a sly smirk. My mouth fell open and closed a couple times, not really knowing what to say. Maggie's smirk grew into a huge grin, causing me to get a little uncomfortable and embarrassed. "Th-there's nothing." I said, brushing my hair behind my ear.

"Why is your life so boring, even with the dead walking around?" Maggie asked, causing me to glare at her. "I mean… I'm getting some." Maggie laughed watching as my face contorted even more in annoyance. Yes. My so called best friend of the end of the world was getting some action while I am failing at even flirting.

"Why can't he friggin see that I'm flirting with him?" I asked her, rubbing my head suddenly. Maggie just let out another laugh, covering her mouth to stop it from being so loud. Why was her laugh so fucking loud all of a sudden? She stifled down into giggles, hiding behind her hands before biting her finger. Some friend she is.

"Daryl doesn't really seem like the type to flirt or to respond to flirting. Maybe you have to try a more direct route?" She asked, quirking a brown in amusement. "Maybe you should just kiss him. Or I don't know, go out to his camp and get naked. No man can resist a naked woman in front of them."

"Shut up!" I hit her arm causing her to flinch, but laugh along with me. "So stop talking about my non-existent love life and tell me about yours that seems to be thriving." We kept swinging on the porch swing, doing mindless chatter. Hearing steps coming around the corner of the porch had Maggie and I turn our attention towards the sound and my brows knitting together seeing Carol standing there.

"Devin." The woman hesitated, looking between myself and Maggie before continuing. "U-um, can you come with me please? Daryl hurt his hand and I just want you to check on it." She spoke softly watching me for a moment. Looking to Maggie, I watch as her brow quirked up and she gave me a sly smile. I growl, pulling my legs off of hers, slipping on my boots. I nodded my head to Carol, slipping inside the house momentarily to grab a few supplies and headed back out, following after the older woman. She led me out towards Daryl's camp out on the border of Hershel's land. Her and I stayed relatively quiet. We never really interacted before. Maybe just once when she was helping make dinner and that was when Rick's group was out looking for Sophia. I watched as the mousy older woman played with the hem of her shirt, letting out a sigh. "I felt I'd ask you to help him since I've only ever see him speak more than five words to you than anyone else." She mumbled, making me look up at her. I smiled at her comment and she flashed me one too, making us chuckle slightly.

"Did Daryl find anything out from talking to Randall?" I asked, now becoming a little more serious. I was genuinely curious as to what Daryl found out.

Carol pursed her lips, giving me an off look. "You know he didn't just talk to that boy in there." She said, her voice much more firm in her response. I knew that Daryl did more than talk. Or else Carol wouldn't be asking me to go and help fix up his hand. I knew. "Daryl found out that Randall's from a group of about 30 people. Whether it's just men or a mix of men, women, and children, I wasn't really sure. Daryl also said that if Randall brought his group here, their group would kill the men and well… the women wouldn't like what would happen to them." She finished, giving me a tight and unhappy smile. I knew what she meant and I felt uneasy about having Randall on the land still. I also knew what this meant for the boy. Either he was going to stay a prisoner the rest of the time here or the boy would be dead before the end of the week.

We made our way up the small hill that Daryl's camp sat on and I watched as the redneck inspected his hands, sitting on a log he had moved in front of a place where a small fire would have been lit at night. Hearing us approach his blue eyes landed on us in his usual glare and I heard him scoff. "Ya gettin' her dragged into this too?" He asked, turning his glare to Carol who didn't respond. His hands were dangling between his thighs as he clenched and unclenched his hands. He seemed to have noticed me watching his hands where he shook his head. "I don' need yer help, girl." He groused out, waving one of his hands out in a dismissive manner.

Stubborn old man. I walked towards him, planting myself on right side and setting some of my supplies on the tops of my thighs. I hear a growl of disapproval from him, which only caused me to smile so sweetly at him. All fake of course. He could growl, kick, or scream at me and I am not gonna move. I didn't walk out here for no reason. He eyed my face for a moment, watching as I held my left hand up, clenching and unclenching my fist so he would give me one of his hurt hand. He eventually gave in, holding up his right hand in front of my face. I took his wrist gingerly, turning his hand so I could inspect his knuckles and fingers. The skin at his knuckles were split like I had thought and he had a little swelling around his wrist. I reached for his other hand and saw about the same thing. "Looks like ya went a little hard on the boy." I noted, opening up a gauze pack on my lap and pouring hydrogen peroxide into it. Another scoff. I began wiping the gauze over his knuckles and hands, cleaning off the dried blood and scabbing cuts. "You don't seem like the kind of person to do this thing either." I murmur under my breath, tossing the blood soaked gauze next to me on the log before grabbing a new one.

Yet another growl. "You don' know nothin' 'bout me, girl." I wanted to roll my eyes. I really did.

Looking up at him, I watched as his glare became more intense. Letting out a sigh I rubbed at his knuckle a little harder than I should, hearing him curse under his breath. "You're right, I don't know anything about you. I've known all of you for what, almost two weeks if even that? Only known the Greene's two or three weeks longer than y'all. So that means I don't know them much either, but we get along just fine especially Maggie and me. You just adapt to how you make friends or enemies faster. You haven't tried to kill me, well besides the first day we met where you had your bow to my face, you've saved me from a walker, you taught me how to hunt, and somehow you got me to tell you how I felt about a traumatic experience that happened in my life. I got to find out a little about you that day too. That makes you my friend. You're also not as big of a hardass as you let off by how you actively searched for that girl so diligently. So I know enough to know that torture is not something you do or used to do on the daily before the world went to shit." I finished as I tossed the dirty gauze in the container they came in. I grabbed my water bottle, holding his arms out in front of him, and poured some of the water over his hands to rinse it off some. He wasn't actively bleeding anywhere now, so there was no point to wrap him up. "So, don't be anything you're not Daryl. You don't have to do whatever Rick and Shane tell you to do to get on their good side."

Daryl didn't respond to what I said. He just stayed quiet as I patted his wrists and arms dry. I pressed my fingers gingerly into his right wrist which cause him to flinch and glare at me. "Ya doin' that shit on purpose!" I had to bite my bottom lip to keep me from laughing.

"I was just checking it out. Calm down." I scolded, pulling his wrist up to his head to elevate it. "Try not to use it too much and elevate it some to make the swelling go down." Standing up I patted his forearm gently, careful not to hit his wrist, as I gathered my trash. He stood up along with me, standing awkwardly to my side and telling me thank you once more. It was small, short, and curt, but I just stood up straight and smiled back at him. We were close again, abnormally so, and if it wasn't for the crunching under Carols feet as she shifted from foot to foot I was sure I would have found myself closer to the man.

Cursing under my breath I walked over to Carol who smiled at Daryl, giving him a wave and following after me. Once we got a few yards away I heard a giggle from the woman next to me causing me to look up at her. "I'm sure he'll get more comfortable around you as time moves on. It's cute how you look at him." The woman spoke, a twinkle in her eyes and a smirk on her face. My face could only turn red as I picked up the pace, not wanting to be around the woman if she was only going to tease me like Maggie did. "Thank you for cleaning up his hand and talking to him. I'm hoping he'll take what you said to heart." She spoke again as the rest of our short walk was done in silence.

Getting back to the house I avoided everyone like the plague. All I heard Hershel and Maggie talk about was what was going to happen with Randall. They tried including me in on the conversation, but I honestly didn't want anything to do with it. Everyone in Rick's group seemed to have already decided the course of action so if we said anything against it, it wouldn't matter anyways. Poor boy was going to die, not that I blamed their reasoning. Apparently Dale was against the killing of the boy and wanted to call a meeting. To me this was just wasting time. It was going to happen, one way or another. The boy would die tonight.

As we all sat in the living room, waiting for the meeting to begin, I grew impatient. I didn't care what they decided to do with the boy. Kill him or not. Didn't make a difference. I would have looked for about anything to have gotten me out of the meeting. Just when Rick was about to start he paused, looking around behind him to see his son standing there. From my location on the piano bench next to Glenn, I saw the boy who was standing in the entry way to the living room, close to Daryl, and looked back to his mother and father. They both didn't seem to move and were pleading with the boy to leave. Basically saying it was time for the grown-ups to talk. Noticing that Carl wasn't moving I got up off the bench, walking over to the boy and crouching in front of him. "How about you and I go play a game of chess huh?" I asked him, hoping it was my chance to get away, and also it was a chance for me to take the boy out of the room.

I heard footsteps coming in our direction and scowled, noticing Shane walking over and shaking his head. "Oh no, no, no. You are needed here at the meeting. Run along Carl." The man spoke, standing next to me with his arms crossed over his chest.

Turning my attention back to Carl I scowled. "You lucky ass…" I murmured to the boy, causing him to smile momentarily, before running off. Standing up straight I noticed how close Shane and I were and I frowned, crossing my arms over my chest.

Giving me a lewd look, he licked his lips before speaking. "That's a girl. You're every bit as important in this decision." I scoffed, turning my head towards Rick and glaring at the man, hoping he'd understand it's time to get the meeting started. Looking to my right, I saw Daryl was leaned up against some kind of side table just out of arms reach, but he was giving Shane some dirty looks. Turning my attention to Rick as he began to speak, people began hashing out on how they wanted to deal with Randall. By how they were all talking about how they wanted to kill Randall made me believe that they had already made their decision.

Dale protested the whole time. Proclaiming that we have lost our humanity if we kill the boy. "Do you have anything to say on the matter?" Dale worriedly asked Hershel and Maggie who both stayed quiet. Probably a good call. "What about you?" When the question was turned to me I felt myself pale for a moment. I didn't like the spotlight on me and it just made me nervous.

Looking down, I bit my bottom lip, and shrugged my shoulders. "Well the kid can't be turned loose. I don't care what y'all plan to do with him. Feed him food or bullets, it doesn't make a difference to me." I murmured, avoiding eye contact with Dale who just gaped at me.

Shane nodded his approval next to me, clasping his hand on my shoulder and giving me a slight squeeze as soon as the questions went on to someone else. "Good call, girl." I felt even more uncomfortable as he kept his arm around me as I tried shrugging out of his touch.

"Lay off man." Daryl growled at Shane, causing Shane and I to look at the redneck.

Shane immediately removed his hand from my shoulder before pointing a finger at the blue eyed man. "Better watch your mouth. You're lucky it's not the time to get into this now." Shane growled before touching my shoulder one last time to squeeze and dropping his hand behind me, fingers brushing over my ass, making me jump. Shane walked back over to his spot behind Andrea, no one really noticing what all went on besides Daryl.

Feeling a hand wrap around my upper arm I looked to see Daryl reaching out and pulling me a little closer. "You alrigh'?" He asked, turning his attention to Shane and give the man another dirty look. I could only clear my throat and nod my head, tucking my hair behind my ears nervously.

The meeting ended with Dale walking out. Rick still seemed set on killing the boy, so Dale seemed a little defeated when walking out. The man stepped between Daryl and I, clasping the blue eyed man on the shoulder. "You are right. This group is broken." He said, before walking out of the house. I looked to Daryl who only held his hands on his hips as he looked downward before looking up at Rick to give a nod then walking out of the house.

Later in the evening, just when it was getting dark, I found myself by the porch swing once again, trying to relax. I had the pack sitting in my pocket now. They had been at the bottom of my backpack since I left Atlanta, but tonight just seemed like a special enough occasion to bring one of the packs out. Pulling out the pack, I opened it, counting 18 sticks inside. The last time I had a cigarette was when I was packing up and moving to Georgia and that was probably about six months ago. I didn't feel the need to smoke them. I wasn't addicted. Just once in a while though, they were nice. Why I had almost 5 full packs was beyond me though. Pulling out the lighter I had stashed in the box along with one of the cigarettes, I lit it up quickly, savoring the smoke, before replacing the pack back in the pocket of my jeans. As a nurse, we teach others that smoking is the root cause for… well practically every disease imaginable. We are not supposed to smoke ourselves and we are supposed to tell our patients to stop and teach them the benefits of not smoking. That smoking just one cigarette puts you at risk for stroke, cardiovascular problems, cancer, among other problems. I figure that since it's the end of the world and there are the dead walking around trying to eat me, one cigarette won't kill me any faster than walkers would.

Swinging lightly on the porch swing I head whimpers coming from around the house along with people walking. Poor Randall was being pushed to walk while Rick, Shane, and Daryl led him into the direction of his final resting place. I was sitting in the dark, thankful that there were no lights on inside on this side of the house so I thought I'd be okay if it wasn't for the little ember that lit up the end of my smoke. Randall seemed to notice and freaked out. "Please help me! You have to help me! You can't just let them kill me!" He shouted at me, causing me to almost drop my cigarette that I was bringing to my lips. So much for some quiet. I turned my head in his direction, noticing that his chaperones were looking at me as well.

I leaned my arm over the railing of the house, flicking off the ash from my burning cigarette before placing it back in my mouth. "I did help you. Helped fix your leg. You're the one that fucked up and spoke too much." I said, inhaling and settling more comfortably on the porch swing, my boots off, and left leg up on the seat next to me. "So rest in fucking pieces." I murmured, more to myself than to the poor boy who was about to meet his maker.

"Got any more of those, girl?" Shane asked, making me lazily look in his direction. I only shrugged my shoulders and looked between the men, my eyes locking with Daryl's for a split second before he looked away. I really hope they weren't making him the executioner.

Sighing I shook my finger at Shane and pulling the stick out of my mouth. "Don't get distracted deputy. You still have a job to do." I sighed, letting the rest of the smoke exit my lungs. Rick got Shane to focus and moved the small group along to where Randall's final moments would be.

Now I don't know if I passed out after putting out my cigarette or I just stopped paying attention to the world around me, but I just remember people yelling. When I finally snapped out of it I was up and moving, watching the rays from flashlights as I made my way into the field. I could hear Rick yelling to get Hershel and watched as Jimmy turned back to the house. I ran through the field, watching as the group started stopping to surround something… or someone. "Where is Hershel?!" I heard Rick yell again. When the man noticed me his eyes widened, motioning for me to come over. "Devin, tell me you can help Dale!" I moved through some in the group, watching as Andrea fell to the ground in tears.

Upon seeing Dale on the ground, bleeding out, and with his abdomen ripped open I could only sigh and put my hands up on top of my head. Dale was dying. His organs inside looked to be bleeding as well and I was no surgeon, but I knew that there was nothing we could do for Dale. The man's stomach was torn into and his intestines were out of place. "There's nothing we can do Rick." I said, looking to the man kneeling next to Dale. Rick seemed to refuse to believe it and asked me what we need to do and I just shook my head. "He's in pain and going to die! We don't have the blood to replace what he's lost and his bowels are ripped open spilling into his abdominal cavity which will cause an infection! Rick, there is nothing Hershel or Patricia or I or anyone can do to save him." I said, trying to give him facts that Dale was a dead man. When Hershel came up next to me, the old man sighed shaking his head. He knew what I knew too. There was absolutely nothing we can do.

Rick stood up then, placing his hand on his gun when he finally accepted that we couldn't do anything. Sobs of Lori and Andrea could be heard behind us. Rick pulled out his gun, aiming at Dale. A pause before he pulled his gun back down. Unable to pull the trigger. I couldn't blame him. He had to shoot Sophia for their group. The man probably needed a break. This was also a human he held his gun up to. Not a walker.

Daryl stepped forward in front of Rick, holding his hand out for the gun. "I'll do it." I heard from him in a strained whisper. Rick passed his revolved to the redneck as I watched the exchange from next to Hershel. Looking down, I heard the click from Daryl taking the gun off safety. I didn't know I could watch him do this. This was probably the most humane way of dealing with it, since Hershel or myself couldn't help Dale. Dale was in pain and suffering, in shock and organ failure. It would take a while for him to die. I heard Daryl breath out, "Sorry brother" to Dale before the sound of the gun going off. I flinched, shutting my eyes tightly.

Everyone had fallen silent at that moment. We all stayed until Shane was the first to leave, followed by Carol, then Patricia. I was the next to go as T-Dog brought up the truck to move Dale. They held a funeral the next day. I didn't attend.


	8. Fire

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The group tries to figure out where they will be leaving Randall. Devin catches Daryl in an interesting situation and makes him turn red for kicks. Things seem to be goin as planned until T-Dog brings to the attention of a missing prisoner.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright a long one here and the one the finish up season 2. I'm not jumping into the prison right away, there will be one or two chapters before that happens. They will finally have a little more interaction between Daryl and Devin along with the rest from here on out. My chapters won't follow so closely to the show anymore. This really fuckin slow burn is about to heat up so stay tuned for that.
> 
> Also there is a part in this chapter where I went from first person into third. I separated this section with *&* I want some feed back though. Should I take the story out of first person and put it in third? Or just when I wanna use third person to explain what everyone is doing without Devin, just separate it with a line break? Again this is a 2AM upload on my part and I did not do any proofreading! It is for the WEAK. Kidding though. One day I'll go through these chapters and think to myself: damn this sucks ass I should have done this and BAM. It'll be changed. Just, today is not that day. Enjoy yourselves lovelies and tell me what you think.

It seemed as soon as Dale’s funeral finished up, everything set into motion. Perimeter checks took place. Shane, Andrea, T-Dog, and Daryl all took the blue truck and went around the farms borders, checking fences and killing any walkers that had gotten in. We didn’t want any surprise attacks like what happened to Dale to happen to anyone else. No one was to go anywhere alone and we were all allowed to be armed full time to protect ourselves. We were also instructed to only use our guns if absolutely necessary and as a last resort. Hershel also was now allowing Rick and his group to come up and live in the house. “We should’ve moved ya in a while ago.” He had told the group as everyone started moving in supplies that Rick’s camp had. Rick talked about setting up perimeter patrols and having two people on duty to watch the land.

“Shane will set up patrol schedules while Daryl and I take Randall out and cut him loose.” Rick had said as people, including myself, grabbed supplies out of the truck to take to the house. Shane did not look happy one bit and I just knew he’d be saying something about that comment.

“We’re back to that now?” Shane asked Rick, challenging the sheriff. Rick had gotten close as the two ex-cops discussed what the game plan was. I tried to act like I wasn’t eavesdropping and grabbed a couple containers with supplies and headed towards the house. I turned my head, hearing the rumble of a bike coming to life and let a shiver run down my spine as he rode next to the truck up closer to the house. I couldn’t remember the last time I was on a bike. I didn’t know how to ride one by any means, but my uncle was part of a motorcycle club… gang… whatever it was back home in Texas and I got a ride from him a few times after school.

I jumped when I ran into a smirking Maggie, who was also holding a few crates as well to help out. “What’s with that shit eatin’ grin?” I asked, moving next to her as we made our way to the house. She just let out a girlish giggle, hoisting her containers up higher in her arms.

“Are you wanting to ride that bike or the man on the bike?” She asked, causing my face to flush scarlet. I have never blushed so much in my life. I don’t even think that any of my exes made me blush like this. I was usually sure of myself in everything I did and that included flirting. This though, seemed so different. The way the world now was different and I guess that meant flirting and relationships would be different too. For me anyways. Maggie seemed to be enjoying couple life with Glenn so much it almost made me sick. “You should just tell Daryl to put his stuff in your room. I’m fixin’ to tell Glenn just that.” Maggie gloated causing me to laugh. She must really like Glenn for only knowing him for so long. She sounded like she was in love the way she talked about him and how his name came off her tongue. Maggie’s voice was sweet and dreamy like with that hint of no-nonsense. We continued up to the house, helping the group move in and to be as comfortable as possible.

As everyone seemed to have moved in I found myself on that porch swing on the side of the house that I loved so much. It reminded me of a neighbor’s house back home and I just felt so at ease here. It was peaceful and a little out of the way from all the commotion that was going around, especially the recent activity. It was quiet. I had kicked off my boots and leaned my head back over the porch swing, allowing my pony tail to dangle towards the ground. I was just about to fall asleep before I heard some murmuring and then the sound of water hitting the ground or rather… of someone urinating? I sat up, a little alarmed honestly because I would never expect what I was hearing and hoping it was mostly a canteen being emptied. Getting up and making my way over to the railing I leaned over it, looking towards the front of the house and saw a pair of angel wings looking back at me a few feet away. Daryl was by the tree and at least he was hidden from the front half of the house. Back here though… I had to stifle a laugh. 

Licking my lips as soon as I heard the small sigh and the sound of a zipper, I spoke. “It would probably be better for you to go out away from the house. Just so… you know, you don’t get caught doing that.” I laughed watching as the man jumps ten feet in the air. I was leaning over the railing, letting out full belly laughs at how surprised he is being. I couldn’t remember the last time I laughed out like this. Then just seeing his harsh face turn my way only to glare at me even more I couldn’t help the tear that ran down my cheek. I knew he was embarrassed by how red his face got too. It was a new shade of red for him that travels from the tips of his ears and disappears down his neck to where his shirt starts.

“What tha hell are ya doin’ back ‘ere?!” He shouted causing me to try and stifle my laugh this time and wipe my cheek. Looking at him again I let out another fit of giggles which really seemed to piss him off even more as he walked over to where I was. I’m mostly surprised someone didn’t come running around the corner at how loud he is shouting.

Finally composing myself enough to speak, I grinned down at him. “I’m planning on taking a nap. It’s beautiful outside today. Especially since you and others checked and double checked the fences I feel extra safe sleeping on the porch swing for a bit.” I nodded towards the swing with my head, tapping the wood porch with my bare foot. I leaned forward just a tad bit more to attempt to be more eye level with him which caused our faces to inch closer. I didn’t really do anything to get away though. I might as well listen to Maggie and be a little bolder in my actions with the man.

He didn’t seem to notice or if he did he was too angry to do anything about it then. He just scoffed at me, looking down at his boots before looking back up. “S’not safe ta do that. Think this is a vacation, sunshine?”

Clicking my tongue, I cocked my head to the side, green eyes traveling from his blue ones to his lips. Eyeing the stubble around his face I moved my eyes back to his so I wouldn’t alarm him too much with my starring. “Well aren’t you just trying every nickname in the book for me. Which one are you going decide on in the end, I wonder? Anyways, I know you’re out there protecting me. So I can sleep soundly thanks to you. If you are that concerned for my safety, why not sleep with me?” I let out another bark of laughter as I watched him go bug eyed from my suggestion.

“Quit laughin’ at me.” I heard him grumble, another glare replacing his surprised look. I grinned, flashing my teeth at him which only caused him to grumble some more.

Clearing my throat, I looked around us, making sure we were alone if only for a moment. “So what is the plan with Randall after all?” 

Daryl relaxed at this question, his shoulders sagging a little. “Rick and I are turnin’ him lose miles away from here. Least that’s what tha plan is. ‘Less Shane fucks somethin’ up.” I gave him a tight smile, nodding my head in agreement.

“Well, be careful, alright Daryl?” I gave him a warning look which made the side of his mouth twitch upwards. “I’m gonna go take a nap, in my bed so I don’t worry you about me out here on my lonesome. Offer still stands though.” 

I watched his face twist into confusion as he looked straight at me, a grin dancing across my lips. “What offer?” He asked, confused now more than ever which made me giggle.

“If you wanna sleep with me hun.” I said causing his face to turn beet red once more. 

He turned on his heel, headed towards the front of the house once again, waving a hand. “Gotta go. Rick’s callin’.” I heard him say which caused me to lean over the railing some more to watch him hurry away. Success seemed to be coming my way. He was still nervous when talking to me, but he surprised me by staying to talk with me some instead of storming off the first time I tease him. Progress was being made and maybe I’d just get lucky with cracking his quiet introverted personality. Even if I am the only one he talks to… I just want to know more about him.

I awoke probably an hour and a half after my short chat with Daryl. I was a good girl and went up to my small room and slept there. I couldn’t remember the last time I took a nap during the day. The last time was probably right before the world turned upside down honestly. I sure was the queen of naps and had a lot of friends make fun of me by how often I took them. Just working three to four 12 hour shifts a week plus going to school drained me completely, so naps were so my thing. Making my way down the steps I watched some of the commotion out through the front door. It looks like Rick and Daryl are about to take Randall for a little ride. Stepping outside I watched as T-Dog handed Daryl a small handgun and saw the redneck check the magazine for bullets. Was it the magazine that you check for bullets? I rubbed my head, trying not to think too hard on it because I didn’t use guns of any kind and didn’t know gun club terminology one bit. I should pick up on it soon though… or I just might end up like the dead. I made my way over to the men, just as Rick joined us. Nodding at Rick politely I leaned against the truck and looked to them. “Taking Randall out already?” I asked looking, licking my lips quickly before looking to Rick.

Rick nodded his head, crossing his arms over his chest. T-Dog pulled out his own gun and addressed Rick and Daryl. “I’ll go get the package.” I laughed quietly at his reference and sighed looking towards Andrea as she surveyed our surroundings.

“I guess I’ll go get my stuff and take Andrea’s place to give her a break while y’all are gone. I haven’t seen Shane so I don’t know what he wants the schedules to look like.” I mumbled, taking my hair from my ponytail so I could fix it. Out of the corner of my eye, I notice Daryl staring at me as I play with my hair in an attempt to get the knots out. Pulling up my hair once more I set it in a high ponytail, just enough for it to barely brush my neck.

Rick nodded his head, blue eyes looking after T-Dog before coming back to me. “Good idea.” I watched his eyes skate over me for a moment, almost making me uncomfortable until he spoke. “Where’s your gun? You can carry your gun around on you now.”

His question made me sigh and I crossed my arms over my chest. “It’s in my backpack up in my room. I’m not that comfortable carrying it around. I have a knife tucked into my boot at least and everyone else has a gun on them so I’m not as worried.”

I watched as Daryl’s face contorts into some form of anger. Sure the man glares all the time, but this time he looked mad. “What tha hell is wrong with ya?” He asked, causing me to jump slightly and stare at him confused. “Ya know why I call ya princess? Cause ya act like everythin’ is just peachy and shit ain’t gonna happen to ya!” How his tone of voice kept raising I began to get a little embarrassed, my face turning scarlet. Since I was getting embarrassed by him, I was getting angry. I was not a child and was able to take care of myself. I used my knife more than my gun and my bow more than my knife.

“I ain’t no child, Daryl! Before coming to the farm I was on my own for almost two months. I found out that guns attract those things out there the hard way by shooting at a couple walkers and being chased up a tree. More walkers had heard the noise and came to the tree I was in, just waiting for me to fall down. I was stuck in that tree for almost a week until the dead either got bored or were attracted to something else that walked by. So don’t you yell at me for not carrying around the loudest weapon I could have and fuck over our whole entire camp with one shot!” I watched as Daryl was a little taken aback by my outburst, but I was not going to be talked down to. 

Rick waved his hands at his waist to cut us off and eyed us both warily. “Alright now, calm down. Devin, go get your pack and-“ We all turned our heads in T-Dogs direction as he waved us over screaming that Randall was gone. Rick gave Daryl and I a look before we ran over to see what was going on. 

“The kid’s gone! Randall is gone! I don’t know how it happened cause the shed was locked up. I had to put in the correct combination to open the lock, opened up the shed and he wasn’t there.” T-Dog explained as Rick and Daryl went inside to check it out. Others came over to see what was going on and eventually the whole house came out too. 

Everyone except Shane. “Where’s Shane?” I asked looking around. Daryl shot me a glance in my direction when I asked the question and I watched as he growled, looking around on the ground. I assumed he was going to attempt to track Randall and see where the kid ran off to so he wouldn’t get too far ahead.

“RICK! Rick!” The direction of the group moved towards the wood where a bloody faced Shane stepped out of, heading towards us quickly. “Kid got the jump on me and ran off! Got my gun too! He’s armed!” Shane said, fury in his voice as he walked up to us. As I watched him get closer I noticed his nose was broken, bent to the side at an ugly angle. Rick began barking out orders immediately. Him, Shane, Glenn, and Daryl would go out looking for Randall while the rest of us are to go inside and board up the place to wait for their return. Looking behind me, I watched as the four men ran out to the forest, as the rest of us made it inside. Maggie was probably gonna need me nearby while she worried after Glenn so I ran up the stairs to my room, grabbing my pack with my handgun and rifle sticking out of the top, my bow, and made my way back down to Maggie who was setting things up with Hershel and Patricia. Beth was there too, finally having enough strength to get up and move while Jimmy doted after her by petting her hair and rubbing her shoulder occasionally.

As soon as the house was secure it was already nightfall. The only light we had going on was the lights in the dining room and the living room. We all just sat around in what I like to think of as a prayer circle. I looked at everyone, watching how they react to one another. Andrea has a twitch like me, one that makes us bounce our feet in anticipation for either some news or action. Lori was playing with her necklace, moving the charm around on the chain. T-Dog seemed to talk to himself while he leaned on the wall. Beth was just… starring. I just hope she is doing better than she was. I was sitting next to Maggie, leaning against her, my pack between my legs. I had my handgun tucked into my jeans, like a good girl, and was waiting rather impatiently. “I’m going to go look for them.” Andrea said, standing up abruptly. 

As soon as she did that, in walked Daryl and Glenn. “Rick and Shane ain’t back?” Daryl asked, wiping his forehead with the sleeve of his shirt, looking at all of us. It made me uncomfortable when both Glenn and Daryl were looking over towards Maggie and I at the same time. Glenn of course for Maggie, but Daryl held my gaze just a touch more than I thought he would, making me momentarily forget to breathe. How cheesy was that? “Heard a shot.”

Lori stood up, shaking her head. “No, maybe they found Randall?”

Daryl shook his head, looking to the woman. “We found him. He’s a walker.”

“Did you find the walker that bit him?” Hershel asked, concern lacing his voice.

It was Glenn’s turn to speak to look between Maggie and Hershel. “No. The weird thing was he didn’t die from a bite. He broke his neck.”

Lori’s eyes widened some and put a hand up on Daryl’s shoulder. “Go find them, please.” Daryl’s eyes glanced down at her hand before nodding.

“I’m coming with you.” I spoke up, standing and grabbing my bow. The redneck hesitated, before nodding his head and leading the way outside. Andrea and Glenn following close behind me. 

Daryl made his way around the porch and stopped suddenly, squinting into the dark. I walked up next to him looking out and frowning. Was this a herd of walkers? I tried moving my head in different angles, trying to see the movements coming from the field. “Daryl… Is that really what I think it is?” I asked, looking to him with weary eyes. He could only grunt and nod his head, trying to gage how many were out there. I heard Hershel tell Andrea to go kill the lights as she ran off to go do just that. 

Glenn popped up between Daryl and I, looking just as worried as I did. “Should we get inside? Board up the house?”

Daryl seemed to have been in some state of shock because I was sure he’d go out with some smart ass remark or even a scoff. He just nodded his head slowly and looked to Glenn. “A herd that size will take out the whole house. We gotta leave.”

The lights went out around us, signifying that Andrea cut off the generator. I pulled the gun from my hip, checking the magazine to make sure it was loaded. Hearing a slight chuckle next to me made me jump slightly and look to Daryl on my left. “So ya got some sense into ya and did what I asked?” I heard his cocky remark as he loaded up his crossbow. 

I could only growl and push against him, shaking my head. “Shove off. No point in stealth now asswipe. Might as well pull out your gun too.” I heard another chuckle from him as he did just that, checking over his gun and making sure he was fully equipped with ammo.

“Devin.” My brows knit together, looking up at him once more. I had to suppress a tremor that ran through my body at him saying my name. He didn’t use it often. My green eyes met his blue ones and his usual glare gone. I couldn’t describe how he was now. Worried would probably be it if I had to put my finger on it. “Be careful an’ stay close to me or someone else. Don’t be alone. You’ll get overrun.” His brows knit together as he looks out towards the walkers coming towards the barn. I could only smile and bump my shoulder into him again, nodding my head.

Lori came up, claiming that she couldn’t find Carl. I turned to them, looking down, not really remembering the last time I saw him. Carol was right behind her calming Lori down and rubbing the mother’s shoulders gently. Maggie came up behind them, setting down a bag of guns before passing them out. I was shocked to feel a shotgun be pressed into my hands and I could only shake my head violently. “We got guns. We got cars. Shoot as many as you can and then we’ll lead them off the property.” Hershel commanded. “This is my farm. I’ll die on it.” He said, walking off the porch and going out some ways to start shooting walkers with his riffle.

“That a fire?” Glenn asked, causing everyone to look in the direction of the barn. My eyes widened at how fast the building went up in flames. I watched as Glenn, Maggie, T-Dog, Andrea, Daryl, and even Jimmy run out to the vehicles to do just what Hershel said and to go see if they could get whoever it was that started the fire out of the barn.

Staying behind with Hershel, I got up next to him, tossing the shotgun I was given next to the man’s feet. He gave me an incredulous look which only made me laugh nervously. “I don’t know how to shoot those things! I barely know my way around this handgun.” I yelled to him, getting the handgun up and taking it out of safety. I was an uneasy shot. I managed to hit the walkers, but it was hard for me to hit them in the head. I could get a shoulder, chest, or stomach… If only they weren’t the dead.

Hearing Carol yelling for help, I turned in the direction to seek her out. I cursed to myself, noticing she wasn’t armed at all and took off, hearing Hershel yell behind me, trying to get me back at his side. I knew he wanted to just make sure I was safe and by his instead of running off to attempt to be a hero. I met up halfway with Andrea who nodded at me as we made our way to get Carol out of her situation. Andrea did a lot better job than I did at taking down the walkers. She got headshot after headshot while I… continued to do as well as I was doing. “C’mon!” I yelled to Carol watching as the woman could only cover her mouth and point behind Andrea and myself.

Turning around a walker was uncomfortable close to me, within arm’s reach, and I jerked away, bringing the gun up and shooting the walker point blank in the head. I flinched as the gun went off, bullet flying through the walkers’ head. Blood splattered onto my face and shirt, making me want to gag. I pulled the sleeve down on my baseball tee I wiped my face of the dark blood and gasped noticing the amount of walkers coming in my direction. Looking to my left, I watched as Andrea ran off in a break she had from the amount of walkers. Worried about Carol, I turned around only to see her gone as well. “What the fuck?” I growled, watching as I was slowly becoming surrounded. I decided my only way to get through these zombies is to just get up close and personal. Reloading my gun with a new magazine I made a break for an area with the least amount of walkers. The majority of the walkers were headed towards the house so I decided to head towards part of the forest. There was no way I was going to be able to make it towards the house again… There was no way to a car… I had to run. “Fuck…” I cursed again heading towards the forest.

Making my way towards the wood, I pulled out my knife into my left hand and slammed it into the forehead of the closest walker. I had to yank a little harder than I thought I would to get the knife out and stumbled in the process. Knees planted into the grass I cursed again, getting nervous. Shaky. Thinking about being alone. Hearing a growl behind me I turn my head to see two walkers coming at me. I groaned, standing up and turning behind me to shoot at the two walkers, hitting them, but only staggering them, and running into the woods.  
It was dark and I had to adjust my eyes to the dark. Out on the farm there was the barn that was providing some light while lit up like an Olympic torch, but here it was just pitch black. I heard growling and groaning again and I just ran faster. I didn’t know where I was running to. I just needed to get away from the growling. I stumbled a few times in the dark, like every other chick running from the bad guy in horror movies. I yelped, getting hit in the face with twigs and branches which I was sure left cuts along my face and arms. “I’m so fucking done with this.” I growled out, trying to push my legs faster to get away from the growls that continued to chase after me.

I don’t know how long I had been running. Probably only thirty minutes… or it could have been two hours. I just kept running, until I saw a truck in a small clearing. “Are you fucking serious?” This was either a sick joke or a blessing. The old black Dodge was still stuck in the mud, but the mud had long sense dried up due to the lack of rain. Maybe I’d be lucky enough to drive it out of here. I ran to the driver side door, yanking it open and jumping inside. “Where are the keys?” I murmured checking the ignition first then the middle console. Reaching my hand down I made a little ‘ah ha’ as I found the keys underneath my seat. Pushing the key into the ignition I gave it a good turn hearing the truck come to life. I sighed in relief, but that was short lived as a walker slammed up against the driver side of the truck, palms and face to the window. I jumped, my head hitting the top of the truck and I growled. I shifted my truck into drive, stepping on the gas. It took a little time, probably due to the fact that there was mud caked around my back tires, preventing them from moving easily. Cursing under my breath I took my foot off the gas for a moment before pressing on it once more. 

The truck successfully jerked forward this time, getting out of the mud I was stuck in and I almost screamed in bliss until the engine cut off. “Ohhh fuck me!” I yelled slamming my hands on the steering wheel. I jumped in my seat again as the walker slammed on my window again and I glared. “I wasn’t talking to you!” I put the truck in park and tried starting it up again to only hear it groan in protest. Another walker slammed into the passenger side window making me begin to worry. One walker was easy enough to handle, but adding another one made me worry. Looking in the rear view mirror made me gasp and quickly try starting my truck once again. It looked to be a dozen walkers coming my way and I needed to get out of there. After turning the key about five I was shaking like a leaf. A small scream escaped as I felt the back of my truck move and be pushed around as the zombies began to surround the truck… with me inside, not being able to move, and now not able to get out of the truck and run. I wiped my cheek, feeling the tear fall and laughed at myself. “A good way to die. Trapped in a truck, surrounded by the dead who want to eat me… Why couldn’t anyone living want to eat me? I could direct them where to go and how fast or slow… I’d probably enjoy that a lot more.” I whined, turning the keys again.

The window blew out on the passenger’s side, sending the glass onto the seat, dead, and decaying arms flying inside the car. Tears fell from my cheeks and onto my lap, as I shakily turned the key over and over again, willing it to come to life. I heard the window to my left crack and I just wanted to stop. It was going to break within the next few hits and my truck wasn’t going. I turned the key again, cried a little harder, turned the key, and cried a little more. Bleary eyed and hardly able to breathe, I turned the key for what I felt would be the last time. The engine started, roaring to life, and then purred while sitting idly. The tears kept going as I laughed, shifting into drive, and slamming the gas, surging forward, running over walkers that stood in the metal machines way. 

*&*

Everyone was meeting up at the highway in the exact spot that Rick’s group left supplies for Sophia. Rick and Hershel were waiting by the car with the supplies on it, pacing, and waiting. Just by some miracle everyone seemed to show up at once. The green Hyundai pulled up, along with the blue truck, and finally the roar of a motorcycle was heard and pulled up close to where Hershel and Rick were waiting. Lori ran out of the truck and up to her family, embracing Rick and Carl. Maggie ran up to her father, followed shortly by Beth. A small and pleasant reunion for the families. There were also feelings of loss. Rick turned to Daryl a slight smile on his face. “Where’d you find everyone?”

“Well, with those taillights zig-zagging around, I figured it had to be Asian driving.” Daryl responded, causing the group to laugh, Glenn included.

Lori looked around then to Rick. “Where’s everyone else? Where’s Shane?” She asked. Her only response was a frown and a shake of the head from her husband. A silent way of saying that he was dead.

“Andrea?” Glenn asked, looking at all the people around him.

“She saved me, but then I lost her.” Carol spoke up, looking in Glenn’s direction. No one else spoke up about seeing Andrea.

“What about Patricia?” Hershel asked, holding onto Beth with Maggie close by.

The small blond sniffled, leaning back and away from Hershel. “I was with her. They took her right in front of me. I was holding on, but I wasn’t strong enough. I’m sorry Daddy.” Beth cried, being pulled into another hug again by Hershel. “Jimmy?” Beth asked between sobs.

“He was in the RV. It got overrun.” Rick said, looking back at Beth with sad eyes as the girl continued to sob even more.

“Did anyone see Devin? Last I saw of her she was with Hershel.” Daryl questioned, biting the skin around his thumb as he looked from person to person. 

“She helped me too. With Andrea. I didn’t see what happened after I got out there though. Carol asked, looking a little hopeful.

Daryl took a few steps to his bike, about to get on. “I’m goin’ back.”

“No.” A solid response from Rick.

Daryl glared momentarily, not really believing what he was hearing. “So we just leave her there? After everythin’ she’s done for us. For me. Carol. Carl even.”

Rick sighed shaking his head and frowning deeply. “She’s not at the farm. She is either running away... or dead. We need to get out of here though Daryl. Keep moving. This place will be crawling with walkers shortly. We just need to hope that she’s alive and on the move.”

Daryl sighed, nodding his head in agreement. “You’re right. Need to stay off the main roads so we can avoid assholes like this one.” Daryl spoke, referring to the single walker roaming around. He grabbed his crossbow, setting it up, and then sending the arrow right into the head, causing the body to drop to the ground.

Carol watched Daryl with a frown turning her attention to Rick. “Can we wait here for just a bit longer. Just to see if Devin comes down this way. It’s the least we can do…”

Rick sighed, nodding his head slowly. “Okay. We’ll gather our supplies. Get what we left on the car. Take a breather.” The group seemed to agree, deciding to get whatever supplies they had and put them in the cars that they were going to be using. It was decided that the blue truck would be left behind and the group was to stick to the red truck, green car, and Daryl’s bike. 

Daryl sat on his bike, ready to get moving. His hands tightened on the handlebars of his hog and he looked down. They’d waited long enough. Devin wasn’t coming. The rest of the group was getting the vibe he was sending off and decided it was time to go. Rick nodded to Daryl before heading to the red truck, to start moving the group. “Do any y’all hear that?” Daryl asked before the group got into their cars. Everyone paused, listening. A roar of an engine could be heard coming down the opposite side of the highway. 

Maggie and Glenn ran into the grass that separated the highway. “Hey a trucks coming!” Glenn shouted back, causing people to be put on edge. They were wary of people now thanks to Randall saying he was from a larger and more hostile group. Those who had guns got them ready. The truck was approaching quickly with no signs of stopping. The truck finally got up to them and zoomed past, causing everyone to relax until the sound of tires screeching and the smell of burned rubber hit them. Daryl got up off his bike, walking over to where Glenn, Maggie, and now where almost the rest of them were waiting. The reverse lights went on and the truck began to head towards them again, screeching to a halt in front of them. The windows were tinted and the window on the driver side looked almost smashed, obscuring the driver from their view. Guns were held up, ready to fire if need be.

The door opened almost violently and brown popped out over the door, then green eyes popped over the door next, set in a hard glare. “I am tired of y’all pointing that shit at me.” Devin finally stood up, well over the door and leaning on the top of the truck, face set in a hard glare. Green eyes flashed over the group before a small smile appeared. “But thank fate that I found y’all.” She said, jumping down from the truck and walking over to them. Maggie ran up to Devin, the two brunettes embracing each other fiercely.

“You look like shit. Worse than over half of us.” Maggie murmured, rubbing her fingers through Devin’s hair. This caused Devin to laugh against Maggie, pulling away and wiping her wet face. 

“Well I stabbed more walkers in the head than I shot dead, ran through a pitch black forest getting cut in the face and arms by low branches and who knows what else, I almost gave up and died in my truck here, but then by some miracle this truck came back to life and I got the hell out of being surrounded by over a dozen walkers. I should look like shit right now.” Devin explained before being embraced by Beth next, who was crying even harder now. 

Hershel came up next, clapping the brunette on the shoulder with a smile. “You need to learn how to use a gun. You can’t rely on just a bow.” Devin rolled her eyes, glaring at the man, before nodding her head.

Carol came up next to Devin, embracing her as well. The brunette was a little uncomfortable, only because she didn’t know Carol as much, but wrapped her arms around the other woman awkwardly. “Thank you, Devin. For helping me out back there.” The woman said, leaning back and giving the emerald eyed girl a kind smile. Devin smiled back, nodding her head.

Looking around at the group, Devin smiled, spotting the hardass biker looking at her, corner of his mouth turned up. “So what’s the plan?” Devin asked as soon as she was out of peoples arms and standing alone once more in the middle of the group, arms crossed over her chest.

“Well we can leave finally. Took ya long enough princess.” Daryl spoke from his seat on his bike. The comment caused a glare to be tossed his way, but the brunette nodded, smiling at the group. 

“Then let’s go. Should I take my truck or leave it?” Devin asked, looking over to Rick. She didn’t know how long that truck would last, but it had a full tank of gas and she was hoping it would run smoothly if she needed it.

“Take it. We don’t have a whole lot of room and if we find supplies we can pack it on there.” Came the leader’s comment. Devin grinned, nodding her head and walking back to the truck.

“Hey Devin! You need this.” Beth said, walking back over to the brunette and handing the woman her pack. Devin took it from the blond, a huge smile on her face before giving Beth another tight hug.

Carol walked over to Devin, touching the girl lightly on the arm. “I’m gonna ride with you. I don’t know if I can handle hours of riding on the back of that bike.” The comment made Devin laugh and nod her head, motioning to the truck.

“Zombie outbreak response team?” Glenn asked, looking at the back window of the truck and laughing. “Where’d you find this truck at Devin?” 

The brunette smirked, tossing her pack inside, and getting ready to hop in the truck. “It’s mine. Well, mine even before all this started. I had to abandon it because it got stuck in the mud almost two miles outside of Hershel’s farm. When I was running away from walkers… it was like I was runnin back to it. Kind of a fitting sticker don’t you think?” She laughed, hopping into the truck and waiting for Carol to jump in after her.

*&*

It felt like we were driving for hours. I mean we were, but it felt like so much longer. Carol dozed off next to me in the truck on and off while I stayed in the back of the car line, keeping up with everyone else. The woman in the seat next to me began to wake up slowly. Carol’s eyes turned to me and a small smile appeared on her lips. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to doze off like that.”

I could only smile back and shake my head. “Don’t worry about it. Just make sure let me take a nap sometime too yeah?” I chuckled, turning up the stereo that was currently playing Bad Reputation from Adelitas Way. If my truck fucked up I was going to have to remember to take the CDs with me. I couldn’t imagine not listening to music.

I watched as Carol poked around in the glove compartment of my truck. She came pretty much empty handed besides two packs of cigarettes and a bottle of Percocet. I frowned when she pulled out the bottle and just starred at the road ahead of me. I had almost forgotten those were in there. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Carol give me a look before turning the packs of cigarettes in her hands and shaking the bottle in the other. I heard honking in front of us and the red truck’s brake lights come on, causing me to slow down my truck. I threw the vehicle into park as soon as I saw those in Rick’s truck get out with Carol and I following after. 

Walking over to Rick and everyone else I crossed my arms over my chest, rubbing my eyes. “Why’d we stop?” I asked looking around at everyone.

“Runnin’ on fumes. Going to have to go get gas in the morning.” Rick said, taking off his jacket to give to his son. Now that I had time to think about it, it was getting pretty chilly. Hopefully I had a jacket or a sweatshirt in my toolbox. Haven’t opened the thing in ages and when I originally left Atlanta it was hotter than the devil’s asshole and I wasn’t really thinking about the cold. Rick wanted to set up a camp for the night. Others argued. I rolled my eyes and pulled out a pack of cigarettes that I had shoved in my back pocket from my pack. I had four… well now six and a half packs. I had a feeling with the arguing that would be going on these cigarettes wouldn’t be lasting too long. 

“You know I found Randall right? He had turned, but he wasn’t bit.” Daryl informed Rick, causing everyone to quiet down a moment. I was behind Carol, watching Rick as if he contemplated to tell us something. Beth and Lori both questioned how that happened. “Shane killed Randall. Just like he wanted to.” Daryl continued. I sighed, looking down at my boots, cigarette dangling between my lips.

“We’re all infected.” Rick. The comment made my head jerk up, looking at the man in confusion. 

“What?” Daryl asked, stepping closer to Rick.

“At the C.D.C. Jenner told me. Whatever it is. We all carry it.” Hearing this information, I leaned against the railing, taking harder puffs of the stick. Makes sense… when Daryl said Randall was changed and had no bites.

“And you didn’t say anything?” Carol asked in disbelief, voice shaky, as she stepped forward to Rick.

“Would it have made a difference?” Rick asked. No. I thought. It wouldn’t matter if he kept it to his grave or told us right away. I put the half burnt cigarette out on the railing next to me before crossing my arms over my chest. Conversation. I looked up to see Glenn and Rick speaking, or arguing. “Well I felt it best that no one did know.” Rick concluded, turning on his heel and walking away.

It was quiet. People looking around at each other. I sighed, rubbing my arms and shaking my head. “He’s right though. Whether we had found out as soon as he knew or if he told us a year from now, it doesn’t matter. There isn’t a cure for whatever this is. We all just… turn eventually.” I said, watching as everyone turned their attention to me. 

Maggie knit her brows together, shaking her head. “How can you think that? We-“

I cut her off, shaking my head. “It doesn’t matter Maggie. Do you have the cure to this virus? In medicine there are no cures for viruses. You can prevent them with vaccines. There are very few antivirals out there to help fight off specific viruses and they don’t always work. They are also treated differently than bacterial infections which we would use antibiotics. Those don’t work on viruses. This is obviously a virus and a virus is supposed to be what the body can fight off, unless it kills you. Think of it as HIV. You have it and one day it’s going to kill you except, in this case, if you die whether it be from old age or getting shot, you come back to life as one of those walkers. When you die or get bit, it turns into full blown AIDS and it’ll change you into one of ‘em.” I shook my head, pushing off the railing and walking back towards my truck to find a jacket.

That night there was a fire going on with everyone surrounding it except for T-Dog and Rick who were both on watch. I was lucky enough to have a light jacket and a pullover sweatshirt in my toolbox and was able to be at least warm enough. I had given Carl my light jacket as well because I was getting worried by how he was shivering. The boy was leaning up against my left hand side, trying to keep warm and I just sat there, arm around him and trying to ignore the cold on my nose. It was beginning to sound better and better to have my hood pulled up and the strings pulled tight so it covered half my face. When the boy’s mama came back he leaned into her now, leaving me a little chillier. Daryl appeared on my right, adding more wood to the fire. I looked up at him and could tell he was tired. I blushed momentarily when he looked down at me, catching me starring. I just whispered a quick thank you before starring back into the fire. 

I heard Carol speak to Daryl in a hushed tone. I tried to listen, but I couldn’t tell if I was too tired or I just didn’t care enough to try and hear. The Greene’s and Glenn were speaking as well and all I wanted to do was tell everyone to shut up. They all did though as soon as cracking of branches was heard, causing everyone to panic slightly. This was my cue for another cigarette. I pulled the pack out of my pocket again and lit it up, watching as the slight panic, turned into full blown. Maggie expressed wanting to move until Rick almost shouted at her, telling her we weren’t going anywhere. “Then do something!” Carol shouted at him to which Rick told her he was. He was mad. All I could do was stand up now, stretch my legs, and attempt to walk around some. Arguing wasn’t going to get us anywhere and Rick has been our best bet so far.

Standing next to Daryl, we all listened to Rick. He offered us an out. Told us that if we wanted to leave, now was the time. I sure as hell wasn’t walking out. I felt we were better off sticking together. No one moved. Seems that they felt the same way if only they would shut up about Rick’s decisions. “No takers?” Rick asked, as everyone sheepishly looked at each other. “Fine. Let’s just get one thing straight. You’re staying, this isn’t a democracy anymore.”


	9. Nicknames

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A month and a half after the farm, Daryl and Devin get closer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologize for the late update!! I was taking a summer class and it was time consuming going to class 4 days a week and then working 3 nights a week. Hopefully I'll have more updates closer together from here on out!

A chill ran down my spine as my fingers touched the stainless steel of the gun in my hand. How cold the weapon was made me think of the weather. It seemed unnaturally cold during this time of year. Not one of us really knew about what time of year it was. Our clothes had changed to adapt to the weather. I still had my long sleeves, but now I had a pullover hoodie to keep me a little warmer during the climate change. I loved sweatshirts, but if it was around the time I think it is, I would be needing something heavier within the next month. I figured the time I ran from Atlanta was early to mid-June, then I was on my own for almost two months, probably just shy of it being so, before I found the Greene’s. Rick’s group showed up a week later and stayed for about three weeks… Now we have been out of the farm for possibly over a month so I’d assume it was about mid to late October. I let out a small chuckle, thinking about it. My birthday was coming up. Or had just passed. Happy 25th to me.

“What’re ya laughin’ at now? Pay attention, girl. Ya got a weapon in yer hands.” I heard the scolding come from behind me, making me flinch. Looking back behind me, I flashed a small smile at the annoyed man. His southern accent coming into full swing was making me even more giddy. When he was angry or anxious, he spoke faster which caused his country drawl to be more prominent instead of his gruff and low growls.

“Well other than the fact that when you get angry you sound even more like a redneck.” I giggled, watching as his blue eyes glare even harder at me. Holding the gun by my hip I turned to the man, giving him a half smile. “Also, it’s my birthday. I think… Well around the time of it anyways.” I laughed nervously, running my free hand through my knotted hair. Daryl’s features seem to lighten at my comment as he releases his arms from his chest, walking over to me. Looking up to him, I grinned, placing my hand on my hip. “I’m twenty-five.” I smirked, watching his face change slightly. I let out another laugh, which only earned a growl from him. “Don’t think too hard, hun.” 

Daryl scoffed, waving his hands in an upward motion, telling me to pull my gun up and get back to practicing. “Just get back to work, kid.” He growled, crossing his arms over his chest. Letting out a sign, I stared down at the gun in my hand, blinking slowly, before taking it properly in my hands. Just like how Daryl showed me, my right hand around the grip of the gun, index finger extended and resting on the frame of the gun, with my other hand on top of my right. “Ya standin’ all wrong.” Daryl gruffed out, using his feet to reposition my legs beneath me. His hands landed on my shoulders, turning me, then leaning forward to grab my forearms. “Remember to keep ya finger on the frame until you’re ready to shoot. Then put your finger on the trigger.” His voice traveled across my ear, nicotine breath hitting my cheek, as he stood close behind me, trying to make sure my stance was correct and I was aiming at my target correctly. “Alrigh’ go ahead, girl.” He kept his hands on my arms, keeping them steady. I let out a breath, trying to ignore the fact that he was so close to me and took aim at the tree I had been shooting at. I pulled the trigger, frowning as I didn’t see bark flying from a hit. I missed. Daryl shifted around me, sending me a harsh glare. “What I say about closing your eyes. Keep ‘em open.” He grumbled, repositioning himself behind me. Taking another deep breath, I aimed and pulled the trigger once more. The bullet hit this time, causing me to grin and look back at Daryl. The corner of his mouth turned up and he nodded his head in approval. “Good job. Do it again.”

I smirked, still feeling his hands on my arms, keeping them up. Pulling the safety of the gun, pulling my arms down, and turning at my waist to look back into his face. I pressed my backside up against him, my ass into the front of his pants, listening to his change of breath. “Think a kid could have done that one?” I giggled, watching his face turned red. I wasn’t really referring to the shot and felt this was the perfect opportunity to tease him. I saw him instantly become uncomfortable as he let go and paced backwards. Grinning back at him, I held the gun back up, taking it out of safety, aiming, and shooting three consecutive shots at the tree, each time hitting it. Finishing off the bullets that I had, I smiled, seeing that each one had hit. He was right. As long as I kept both eyes open, it worked. I jumped up, throwing my arms in the air. “I did it!” 

I heard a growl from behind me as Daryl gave me a harsh glare, instantly making my grin fall. “Quiet, girl. Yer still holdin’ a weapon so ya gotta be more careful than tha’!” He walked over to the tree he left his crossbow up against. He set it up, placing a bolt onto it, and started walking back in the direction our camp was waiting for us on the highway. I frowned, running after him and attempting to reload my gun, not really paying attention to what was going on in front of me. 

I looked up to make sure Daryl was in sight and out of the corner of my eye I saw a walker just out of arms reach, causing me to freak out. I dropped the gun, it not being of any use without any bullets in it and reached for my knife, but I had to reach my left arm out to keep the walker away. It pushed against my arm and was proving to be strong enough to where I almost had to use my other hand to hold the walker back, but I grabbed my knife in time and slammed it into the zombie’s head. The walker slumped against me, making myself stumble, but I froze hearing another moan. Peeking behind me, I watched as another walker coming up from behind me. “D-Daryl! Little help!” I cried out, pushing the unmoving walker with all my strength, causing it to topple over and me to stumble over to the side. At that moment Daryl slammed his knife in the other walkers’ head, killing it permanently, the body falling to the ground. I let out a shaky breath, licking my lips as I looked up to the man. I studied him a moment. Just looking at him. His chest was heaving as all the adrenaline that was in his body left just as quickly as it came. His brow had a few drops of sweat on it, causing his hair to look slightly wet. His shirt now had a few drops of black blood from him ripping out the knife from the walker’s head. His blue eyes were glued to me, wide and weary. I licked my bottom lip, starring back at him, nervous, and a little ashamed that I needed help. “Thank you.” I sighed, looking down at the gun and magazine that was on the ground. “I… don’t know why I keep asking you to help me nor do I know why you agree to help me with these things. All this seems to get is us in trouble and I don’t want you to get hurt cause I’m… just so incompetent.”

The man was quiet for a moment, I’m assuming it is to process what I had just said. All he seemed to do is shove his knife in its sheath and sling his crossbow over his shoulder. “Group needs someone who knows how to take care of them when they’re sick or hurt. You’re important to the group. Ya helped Carol get away from them walkers at the farm. Helped Carl get better. Ya helped me. Just doin’ right by ya. If it were me in your situation just now I woulda needed help too. S’don’t worry about it an’ don’t apologize for me helpin’ ya out.” Daryl seemed a little uncomfortable now. He was playing with his thumbnail, close to his mouth, but not biting it.

Leaning down and picking up my gun and magazine, I finally was able to load the gun and put it away, tucked into the waist line of my pants. Walking over to Daryl, he averted his eyes to the ground, looking rather uncomfortable. “I think that was the most I’ve ever heard you speak at one-time Dare.” I giggled, offering a small smile. “Thank you.” I spoke softly, lifting up onto my toes, and pressing my lips to his cheek before motioning for him to follow me back to the camp with the man grumbling behind me the whole time.  
We finally got back about thirty minutes later, Rick was pacing up and down around the camp. I paused slightly, causing Daryl to stutter step behind me and grumble in annoyance. I jutted out my chin into Rick’s direction. The man looked pissed. Probably because we were out there longer than we should have been. Daryl walked forward first at a brisk pace while I had to trot to keep up with him. Rick turned to us, glaring as he walked forward. “Where were you two?” He asked, voice low and stern. 

“Took her to practice her shootin’.” Daryl grumbled, looking down momentarily, before looking back up. “S’her birthday an’ it’s ‘bout time she learns how to shoot good without worryin’ about walkers chasin’ after her.” I blushed, crossing my arms under my chest as I looked between Rick and Daryl.

Rick softened a little, his shoulders going slack before looking at me. “Next time don’t stay out so long. We have to keep moving and need to stay safe, but to do that we need to stick together. From now on, no one stays out longer than one hour.” Rick was sure to look to Daryl and myself before motioning us all together to discuss where we would be going to next. 

We were packing up to head out. Since Daryl and I told the others of the two walkers we killed in the forest, Rick was afraid that the herd of walkers would be making their way to us shortly and he didn’t want us sticking around. We needed to find a spot to hole up for the night and to also keep looking for food and supplies. Just a matter of time we either starved or ran out of ammo and became food ourselves. I was praying we would stay at a house tonight instead of outside in the open. Rick didn’t like the idea of staying in houses claiming that we would get too comfortable there and wouldn’t be able to move out fast enough if trouble were to come our way. Sighing, I leaned against my truck, wiping off the light sheen of sweat off of my forehead. Looking to my right, towards the bed of the truck, I quirked a brow as I watch Carl and Beth make their way up to me, grinning excitedly. “Can we ride with you please? Daddy’s getting annoying and Carl said he didn’t know if he can handle the tension with his parents anymore.” Beth spoke out, pleading with me with her beautiful blue eyes. 

I groaned, pinching the bridge of my nose. When kids give those puppy dog eyes, it’s hard to say no. Not that she was a child by any means, she was probably around seventeen or eighteen at most, but she was still so young. “Fine, fine. Let me double check with your parental units so I don’t get in trouble for taking ya.” Looking around I spotted Lori. “Hey Lori, did Carl ask you if he could ride with me?” 

The woman nodded her head, carrying a small box to the truck. “If it’s alright with you, it’s fine.” She grinned, watching as I scowled. Even through the scowl, I really liked them to be truthful. Found out Carl liked to pull little pranks and I seemed to be the only one who ever easily reacted to them. Enough to pull some of my own on him. Beth wasn’t as playful, but she was warming up. I often heard her humming when she was alone and she was smiling more and more every day. 

“Maggie.” I heard Beth say with her country twang, rather loudly causing me to jump animatedly and cup my hand over her mouth and shake my head. The young blond blushed, letting out a quiet giggle. My brunette friend stopped to look in our direction before giving me the thumbs up, instantly knowing what I was going to ask. The two kids grinned up at me, smiling with glee. 

Daryl rode up on his bike, stopping next to us before rubbing his hands together. “’M takin’ point. Ya kids listen to her al’righ’?” He gave a stern look to the two that would be riding with me. Their smiles instantly fell, followed by them nodding hastily and retreating to my truck. I let out a laugh, watching them scramble into it, settling in for the long ride ahead. I walked forward to Daryl, giving him a toothy grin. I watched his shoulders tense up with me coming closer to him, but his posture relaxed a bit as he just cleared his throat and continued his thoughts. “Honk, quietly if ya need to stop for any reason. If it’s dark, flash ‘em.” 

“I know the drill Dare. Don’t you worry about me. I ain’t riding bitch in the line today anyway. I had that duty yesterday. Just remember about whoever is in the back of the line alright?” Yesterday I was at the back of the line and at one point I needed to stop and get gas and my truck ended up running out of said gas cause no one was paying attention to my ‘light honking’. As soon as my truck stopped I had to blare the horn a little louder than what Rick wanted, causing the man to jump down my throat. 

Daryl, licked his lower lip, nodding his head. He was quite amused it seemed. His lip was quirked and he held a glint of amusement which made me squirm. It was rare for this man to do anything, but glare. I’d take whatever other emotion I can get. “We ever gonna decide on our nicknames, doll? Or is ‘Dare’ what you’re gonna be callin’ me?” He asked suddenly, quirking a brow. I could only laugh and watch as he moved ahead of me, taking the front of our caravan. Hopping in my truck, I repositioned myself, getting ready for a long ride ahead. 

The ride wasn’t too unpleasant to say the least. I was just tired of driving. I’ve never been much for driving and always hated it. I was never that stereotypical sixteen-year-old who just got a license and wanted to drive everywhere. I wanted to someone to drive me around. Even now I wanted to someone to drive and even considered letting Beth or Carl take the wheel tomorrow if they would be riding with me again. Today was different though. I could only assume the reason why I enjoyed it so much was because of the company with me. Beth and Carl were quite a hoot. They teased each other, along with including me in on it, they complained like normal children about their parents, and Carl was definitely smitten with Beth. He was probably about twelve or thirteen and it was just adorable how he had a crush on a girl that was way out of his league. Or maybe not. Maybe when they are older something could strike up. Some kind of relationship could form. I laughed to myself at the thought, stopping the truck along with the rest of the gang. Seemed like this was the spot we’d be staying at tonight. We went off-roading about five minutes ago and were now up to a house on a couple acres of land. It wasn’t crowded with other buildings or a barn. Just a single house on this big plot of land. “Wait here, y’all. Myself of one of the group will let you know when to come out. Gotta make sure this is the place.” I said to my two companions. They nodded their heads as I got out of the truck. I knew Carl had a gun on him so I wasn’t too worried about the two in my truck.

Hopping onto the ground I looked behind me to see Rick, Glenn, T-Dog, and Maggie all hop out of the vehicles. First things first. We needed to clear out the house of any walkers there might be, before we decided to settle here for the night. Daryl was next to me, meeting everyone half way in a small circle. “This where we going to stay?” I asked peeking to Daryl.  
“Yeah. For tonight. Just have to clear it out. We’ll leave early in the mornin’ and get gas at the closest town we find.” He mumbled, looking to everyone who nodded their heads.

“Good plan, Daryl. We need to scout out the house first before we let everyone get inside. Devin and T-Dog will go around the sides of the house and meet in the back. Glenn, Daryl, and myself will go into the house and clear it. Maggie, stay out front and keep an eye out. T-Dog and Devin, when you meet in the back, wait for us to get the door. Once we get everyone moved in, we’ll decide who takes first watch. Remember not to make any loud noises that will attract anything our way.” We all nodded our head at Rick, getting ourselves set up to go check out the house. I opened up my gear box, pulling out my bow. T-Dog nodded to me, informing me he was taking the right side of the house.

As everyone was prepared to go inside, I finally got up to the left side. T-Dog, Maggie, and I watched as the three men disappeared inside the house. Through one of the windows I watched as Glenn slowly made his way up the stairs. Maggie seemed nervous, watching as her boyfriend ascended the stairs, but she held her gun firmly. Our eyes met and she nodded her head at me before jutting her chin towards the back of the house, telling me to get to work and get moving. Making my way around the side of the house I tried paying more attention to the land, to make sure there were no walkers in that direction. Looking up, I noticed a large tree, changing colors, with red, yellow, and brown leaves. It was over grown, limbs reaching over the roof, which looks like they have caused some damage to the house. It also looked like the tree would provide the perfect amount of shade, especially for the back porch that I was slowly getting close to. Around the tree, fallen leaves littered the ground. I was surprised at the amount there was on the ground and was surprised that the tree wasn’t bare already. My feet crunched onto the leaves. I loved that sound. “Devin?” I heard a loud whisper, from T-Dog towards the back of the house, making me hustle a little, and under the tree. All clear on this side. I stepped onto something that wasn’t just crunching leaves. The metal bars that shot from the leaves and clamped onto my leg made me let out a sharp, quick scream before I clamped my hand over my mouth. “Devin?!’ I heard T-Dog say louder.

I crumpled to the ground, bow falling next to me as my hands reached to the trap attempting to open it, biting my lower lip violently to prevent myself from screaming again. Well whoever used to live here was smart in putting a bear trap here. Looking at the trap I spotted the chain that was attached to it, staked into the ground. They would stop walkers that’s for sure unless the zombies ended up ripping one of their legs off. I watched as T-Dog rounded the corner, his eyes widening as he saw me on the ground, trying not to cry out. The longer this thing stayed on, the more it would compress my leg, cutting off circulation. Also the fact that my leg was probably broken, now. T-Dog was about to come forward before I shook my head. “D-Don’t! There might be more.” I cried out, still trying to open the trap from around my leg. 

Daryl came running out of the house, surprised that no one was there. Spotting T-Dog to the side of the house, he grumbled, walking over to the man. “What tha hell? Thought we said, wait at the back door.” When the redneck came from around the house, looking angry, his blue eyes widened, seeing me sitting on the ground. He looked closer and watched as I failed to get the trap off once more and started heading towards me. “Quit pullin’ on it, girl. S’only one way to open it!” As he got closer, he looked at the ground in front of him, using his foot to slide along the ground. Smart move. At least he won’t step on another one. I watched as his foot hit another bear trap and watched as he kicked it out of way and to where it was now visible to others. As he got next to me he crouched down, pushing on the levers that were outside of where my leg was trapped. “Traps open! Pull yer leg out, girl.” He growled, obviously having some problem holding the levers. I did as he said, only having a slight problem with lifting my leg, but got it out safely as he let up on the levers, causing the trap to snap closed again. I whimpered, pulling my leg up to me, cradling it. I needed to take off my boot and have a look at how bad the damage was, but I didn’t want to move.

Rick came around the front with Glenn and Maggie, looking for everyone. When they spotted me on the ground they ran forward, but Daryl waved them to stop as the trio approached. “Don’t. Bear traps.” Was all he said as he looked at my face. A warm finger tilted my head up and my blurry vision allowed me to see Daryl with worried eyes. “Can ya move yer foot, doll?” He asked, picking my right leg up behind the knee and holding the top of my calf. I attempt to move, it and got it to move ever so slightly. It just hurt too much to try and move.

“Mhmm.” I breathed out, trying to catch my breath. “It ain’t broken at least. Or… I hope it ain’t anyways, since it’s moving.” Daryl nodded his head, putting my arm around his shoulders and his own arm around my waist, helping me to stand up. I groaned out, leaning against him heavily, but he didn’t seem to mind. 

“House all clear Rick?” Daryl asked, leading me towards the back door, receiving an affirmative. “Get Hershel an’ tell him to come take a look at Devin!”

We made our way up to the house and inside. We were in the dusty kitchen that had a lone wooden table with a couple chairs around it. The cabinet doors were hanging from their hinges or wide open with nothing inside besides plates, kitchen utensils, and other useless crap. Upon further inspection the rest of the house seemed to be very dusty as well from what my view was from the kitchen. I was able to peer into the living room which had half torn red curtains still hanging up, dirty mattresses scattered on the ground from previous use, and opened cans on the ground. So much for getting supplies here. Daryl sat me down at one of the chairs in the kitchen and knelt down in front of me, untying my boot for me. He slowly took it off, making me flinch. Blue eyes looked up to me warily, watching me wipe my cheek of a fallen tear. This might be a break of some kind after all. The pain radiated up and down my leg and it just made me really get a hankering for something to take the edge off. I leaned forward, slowly rolling my pants legs up to check out the wound. “Not bad… seen worse. S’ya lucky, doll.” I heard Daryl say as he was observing the wound as well. There was a ring of blood just above my ankle where the trap dug into me. I was just lucky that the trap was blunt and used for holding animals and not to really maim. It didn’t have that saw tooth look that I envisioned all bear traps having.

Observing my wound a little bit more, I knew that it would be alright once it was cleaned and taped up. From leaning forward, I peered up to Daryl, whose face was close from his squat next to my leg. “I’m mostly worried about the bone underneath, Dare. It hurts too much to even move my ankle.” I murmured, biting my lower lip to stifle a gasp from me trying to move my leg again. I shivered, feeling Daryl’s hand run against the back of my calf again, to straighten my leg out. “I’m not much use with a broken leg.” I sighed, biting my lower lip. 

Daryl just chuckled, peering up at me, our faces close together. Probably too close for comfort for Daryl because I sure didn’t mind. He didn’t move away though, stayed put right where he was which surprised me some. Our breath mixed together into a heady concoction that I was beginning to enjoy and become light headed from, making me forget about the pain in my leg. Momentarily. Hershel came in, making me sit up a little straighter, getting away from Daryl a touch. “What you do, Devin?” The man asked, pulling over a chair and taking a look. He was already unpacking some medical supplies as I explained to him what happened. “Lemme clean up the blood and see if you need stitches anywhere and then I’ll try and see if I can find a break. It’s hard to check because your leg doesn’t look deformed in any way.” The man spoke, opening up a package of gauze and pouring alcohol on it. “This might sting.”

“I’m sure it won’t hurt as bad as my ankle is feeling right now.” I growled out, the man beginning to clean the wound. Daryl kept holding my leg up for me and I am sure his knees were going to be hurting from staying in that squat for so long. Grabbing his hand that was on my calf I pried it away which he only replaced, gripping my calf more tightly now. “You can let go Daryl, I can hold it up. Besides, I’d prefer to have shaved before you start touching my legs.” My comment got me a chuckle from Hershel and T-Dog, a giggle from Carol, and a growl from Daryl. His ears turned pink though, which made me smirk at the thought of making him embarrassed.

Hershel finished cleaning my wound and wrapping a bandage around it to keep it from bleeding. “No stitches and there should be little to no scarring. Now try moving your leg around one last time. If not, we’ll have to brace it and assume it’s broken.”

Hearing that I groaned, tilting my head back. I attempted to move it again, it twitched to the side, but still hurt too much for me to move it. “Ahh fuck it’s broken.” I whined, taking a sharp intake of breath. 

Hershel shook his head, digging through his bag. Pulling out what looked like a compression wrap, that I could find in the health section of any supercenter, he placed it around my ankle, being careful not to move my leg too much. “We’ll try this. It’s swollen, but in two days that should go down and you should be able to use it…” Hershel sounded like he wanted to say more, but he stopped his sentence, worrying me.

I cleared my throat, watching as the man stood up and grabbed his thing. “But… I’m goin to be a little gimpy for the next couple days huh?” I asked, getting a nod from Hershel.  
“Hopefully it’s just swollen and not broken. If it is, there’s no way to fix the break and you might have a limp.” He informed me, making me roll my head back and whine. I was basically useless. Rick came into the kitchen, giving me a weak smile as I pouted.

“Ya hear that Rick? I’m a sack of shit that can’t do… well shit ‘cause I can’t friggin’ walk.” I growled out, angry at myself. Rick just chuckled coming over and patting my shoulder carefully.

“Don’t worry, girl. Someone here’ll get, ya. Can ya walk?” Daryl asked me, offering a hand to help me up. I grabbed it gratefully and stood up, wobbling slightly. I attempted to put my bad leg down to the floor, but flinched. There was no way I was going to be able to walk or even hobble around. I patted Daryl’s arm lightly and he pulled away, but stayed close enough to catch me if I were to fall. I hopped on my left foot into the living room, causing Carl to chuckle at me. Flashing him a glare, I looked around and saw that there were quite a few mattresses on the ground and was happy none of us would be sleeping on a hard floor. I smiled, spotting my rutty red sleeping bag close to me and the kitchen and hopped over to it, before using the wall to help me down to the ground.

We were all in the same room now and Rick was leaning against the stairs that led to the second floor. “We all better get some rest. If you want to eat, do it now too, just remember to save what we can. Our plan tomorrow is to get out of here and go to the closest town. We haven’t headed to it yet so hopefully we’ll get some food and gas there. I don’t know what we are going to do with Devin now…” Rick looked in my direction, making me scowl. I really felt useless now. “We’ll have to figure out who’ll drive her truck… or we’ll have to leave it. Also how we are going to get her out of here if there’s an emergency.”

Daryl, who was leaning against the wall next to me, biting his nail, perked up a little at the statement. He readjusted his bow in his hands, clearing his throat. “I’ll help her.” My green eyes looked up to him and I smiled, ever so slightly. Rick looked between us before nodding his head slowly.

“Just drop me if you can’t protect yourself Daryl.” I said, letting out a light laugh. He glared down at me, obviously not amused with my sense of humor at the moment. 

Hershel was in front of me again, causing me to turn my attention away from the glaring man next to me. He was holding out two white, oblong shaped pills in front of me. I cocked my head to the side while knitting my brows together. “Vicodin. For the pain I’m sure you’re feeling.”

If I wasn’t pale already, I paled even more at the offer. I was in a good amount of pain. Not the worst, but my pain right now would have to be a six or a seven out of ten. Vicodin would definitely take care of that… I just couldn’t though. Shaking my head, I offered a half smile. “No can do Hershel. Have anything else?”

Carol spoke up from her mattress, pointing towards the door. “What about those pills in your glove compartment? Percocet was it?” My eyes widened at the offer and I shook my head furiously.

“No, no, no. Um… I was thinking more along the lines of Tylenol or Motrin? Toradol if we have it. I need to hand over that Percocet to you Hershel. It’s just been sitting in my truck for almost a year now and I don’t like using narcotics much.” 

Hershel nodded his head, putting the Vicodin up and handing me Motrin instead. “Is that really going to help you? I’m sure you’re worried about the addiction to the narcotics, but your pain needs to be under control too. That way you can heal faster and properly.” I wanted to roll my eyes. I know Hershel. I know. I’m a nurse. I’ve said what you are saying right now to who knows how many patients I have had and said the same thing. It’s just this time, if I get addicted, there’s no way for me to crawl back out of that rabbit hole. “Although, I’m sure you already know that. Often wonder what kind of nurse you were.” Hershel added, giving me a soft smile. Was he a psychic now and could read my mind? 

Smiling back, I popped the two Motrin into my mouth, taking a swig of my water. “ER.” I answered, getting a look from Maggie, who only grinned at me. Everyone seemed to be settling in for the night. Daryl was standing against the wall, looking out the back kitchen windows while Rick was at the front. I was assuming that they were going to take first watch. Then probably switch off with Glenn and Maggie or Hershel.

“I’ve been trying to find out from you for a while now what you did before all this shit happened. I knew you were a nurse, but you kept denying it. You told me you were a CNA instead, but that sure wasn’t true. You know too much, especially with how you helped Carl and Daryl.” Maggie practically sang, her country twang making me smile.

I licked my lips, unzipping the sleeping bag underneath me as much as I could before I would get in. I giggled, hearing Carl ask what a CNA was before looking over to the smaller boy. “Certified Nurse Assistant. I was one though, Maggie. I wasn’t lying.” I flashed a grin. “It’s what I did while I was going to school.”

Hershel let out a laugh, relaxing in his sleeping bag. “So you could’ve taken care of your leg yourself?”

Letting out a small laugh of my own I nodded slowly. “I could have. I’m usually a big baby when it comes to me getting hurt. When it’s others, I… kinda like it. When others get hurt I mean. I focus more and able to think straight. If I’m alone though I’m actually a big baby about these things. I’m sure I’ll be faced with… well walkers, I can push that acting like a baby shit aside. That’s why I can hobble and hop by myself for the most part. I’ll make myself walk on my ankle if I absolutely have to. Just hopefully I won’t have to do that. I think I just like being babied when I am hurt I guess.” I slowly maneuver myself into my sleeping bag and laying down. We needed to get up early in the morning, so sleep was good. Glenn was already passed out, probably because he’d have to wake up in a couple hours. 

Just as soon as I closed my eyes, it was like they opened again. It felt like minutes when I was sure it had been at least a couple hours. My ankle felt like it was on fire and I knew the Motrin already wore off. I wouldn’t be able to take more for another couple of hours too. Sitting up, I let out a small groan, causing the two watch dogs to turn and look at me. Glenn had replaced Rick, but Daryl was still up and leaning against the frame that separated the kitchen from the living room. I murmured a quick sorry, before sitting up and pulling myself out of the sleeping bag. Grabbing my pack, I pulled out my gun before using the wall behind to get to a standing position. “What are you doing?” I heard Glenn whisper, giving me a weird look from his position by the front door.

“Need to go pee. So I’m takin my gimpy ass out the back and by a tree.” I used the wall as best as I could to be able to get myself towards the kitchen. Daryl stood up straight, walking over to me to try and help, but I just shook him away gently. “It’s alright Daryl, I got it.” I flashed him a gentle smile, making my way towards the door. 

A worried look passed over Glenn’s face. “Daryl, go out with her. To keep an eye on her.” I heard Glenn command as I rolled my eyes. I hobbled out slowly with the redneck following even more slowly behind me. Opening the door, I listened first, listening for any strange growling or shuffling, before taking the short hop down onto the deck. I walked over to the railing, leaning my butt against it and letting out a shuddery breath.

“I thought you… ah. Had to go?” Daryl spoke up, looking awkward, running a hand through his hair which only made me laugh. 

I dug around in my pockets, pulling out a cheap lighter, then looking up at Daryl with a sweet smile. “Got a pack of my smokes on ya?” I asked as he quirked a brow and digging in the pocket on the front of his shirt. Handing me the pack, I grabbed it, pulling out a cigarette. “Also I didn’t need to go go. Just wanted a cigarette because it’ll get my mind off my leg for a bit.” Closing my eyes momentarily and inhaling from the cigarette in my mouth. I felt the railing shift to accommodate the extra weight that Daryl now put on it. I turned my attention to him, observing him. He was leaning on his forearms on the railing, looking out around the land. He leaned his crossbow against a post at his feet, actually relaxing for a moment. I took the cigarette out of my mouth and tapped his shoulder with my arm, getting his attention, and offered him the cigarette I had. He looked at it, before looking at me with those deep blue eyes that always seemed to make me nervous by what they saw. Daryl didn’t speak much, but I knew he was always thinking of something. Observing his surroundings. Reading everyone’s body language. Trying to figure out what the motives were of the people around him. 

Taking the cigarette out of my hand, he put it in his mouth, taking a long drag. “Why do ya always want to share a cigarette with me? Ya got enough packs to last a few months.” 

I only giggled at his question, taking the cigarette back from his offering hand, placing the smoke in my mouth. “Closest thing I can get to a kiss from ya.” I laughed a little harder, hearing him scoff and turn his head away from me. It was too dark to see him blush which was a shame because I am sure his whole face was red.

I didn’t say anything after that. Waiting for him to make the next comment or just giving him time to calm down. I felt my cigarette being pulled from my mouth and placed in his, which only made me smirk. “So why none of the hard stuff?” His question confused me. I cocked my head to the side, turning my attention back to him. Seeing my confused face, he blew out the smoke from his lungs before speaking again. “Why don’t ya want better meds?” 

His question made me look down at the ground. Was this really another question I wanted to answer? Looking to him, I leaned my shoulder into him, staying there. He was a little alarmed by how close I was to him, but he didn’t make any attempt to move. “I don’t think I’ll be answering that, angel. You already know this and that about me. Tell me about yourself, then I might consider telling you.” I smirked, thinking it only as a fair trade. He turned his head away from me, inhaling the smoke even deeper, frowning. I frowned as well, leaning my head on his shoulder. “You know about my cut. The fact that I had a shitty boyfriend in high school… I’ve had multiple shitty boyfriends though. Couple shitty girlfriends too. None as bad as the first though.” I hummed.

I felt him move his head, as if to look at me and felt my hair ruffle slightly from his chin being in my hair. I was mentally praying he wouldn’t take a big whiff in and smell my hair. I’m sure it was rather rank. “Girlfriends?” He asked in almost a state of disbelief. I only giggled and nodded my head against his shoulder. Feeling a sigh leave him he put out the cigarette butt, and leaned away from the railing. “Alrigh’, what do ya wanna know?” He asked, looking down at me as I pulled away from his shoulder. “Smokes?” I grinned at him, pulling the pack out of my back pocket, handing it to him. 

I waited until he lit up another one before beginning my questions. “What were you before… this?” I asked, waving my arm around to indicate our world today.

“Nothin’.” I paused to wait and see if there was more, but he didn’t continue. He was once again leaning on the railing of the back porch, keeping an eye out and smoking the cigarette, planning on making it quick I was sure. I only had until he was done with that one I was certain. 

I turned around, facing the same direction as him, placing my head on his shoulder once again. I also put a little weight on him, just to help out my leg. “Not a good answer, angel. What were you doing? What did you do for a living? Where did you live?” I felt him shift again, turning his head, stubbly chin bumping into my forehead.

“I was movin’ ‘round Georgia with my brother, Merle. Never stayed in any place for long ‘cause Merle wound up getting’ in trouble. Had to save his ass more than once. Worked at a mom and pop garage with him. Often would end up goin’ to a bar after work, Merle would leave with some girl he’d find, I’d drink a little more just to pass the time an’ give ‘em space. Then go to the apartment I shared with my brother and sleep off the night. Do it all over again.”

I gave him a small smile, stopping his hand from pulling the cigarette up to his mouth. He gave me an offended look as I took the cigarette from him, placing it in my mouth. “Mechanic huh?” I asked only to get a grunt from him. “Must be good with your hands.” I giggled, watching as his face turned away from mine as his shoulders tensed. “Sorry. Just so fun to tease. Was your brother a mechanic too?” 

Daryl hesitated a bit before nodding his head. “Yeah. When he wasn’t runnin’ drugs... or doin’ them.” 

I smiled sadly at him, inhaling from the cigarette in my mouth, before releasing my breath. I let out a light chuckle, handing him back the almost burned out cigarette. “You ever run drugs or did any Daryl?” I asked, eyeing him.

“Nah. I’ve tried small stuff, yeah, jus’ didn’ like it. Then when Merle got into the harder stuff, didn’ like what they did to him so I never had the desire to try it, is all.” He grunted, finishing off the cigarette.

I nodded my head slowly, biting my bottom lip. It made me happy that he wasn’t exactly like his brother. It made me happy to know that Daryl seemed to have attempted to make an honest living and the worst thing he seemed to do was drink. “Did you have to leave anyone behind when this all started?”

“Uncle I guess? He got bit by walkers. Had to put him down.” Was the gruff reply as Daryl stood up a little straighter, crossing his arms over his chest and bringing his thumb up to his mouth.

I watched him run his thumb over his lower lip, knowing he was ready to start chewing at the skin any moment. “What about Merle?”

He looked at me with his stone cold gaze, easily making me shiver. Did I ask a wrong question? “Dunno. Rick handcuffed my dumbass brother to the top of a building and when we went back for him we just found a hand. Merle cut off his own hand to get away from walkers. Tough son of a bitch burned the area of his hand with a hot pan from a kitchen in the same building. So he got away… just don’t know if he’s alive or not.” He shrugged, looking out around our surroundings before looking back to me. “How many more questions ya gonna ask, girl?” 

I flashed him a small smile, looking down at my leg momentarily. “Sorry. I’m just curious about you is all. I mean… for the past month and a half we’ve been going out hunting together and sharing smokes at night and I still didn’t know a single thing about you. I want to ask more, but I think I’ll save the questions for another time. Give you a break.” I said with a giggle.

The corner of his mouth twitched upward as he nodded his head. His eyes snapped to my leg as I winced, trying to readjust myself and get comfortable on the railing that was now behind me. “Ya gonna tell me now why ya don’t want anything for that leg of yours?”

I frowned, letting out a deep sigh. I did say I’d answer after he answered my questions. It just made me wish I asked a few more invasive questions like this one. I’d have to ask about those scars on his back, but I’d save that question for another time. “Um… I had a narcotic addiction. I had just got my fancy Nurse Practitioner license and had a loser boyfriend at the time who was selling drugs already. It was usually weed or cocaine, but when he found out I could write prescriptions he asked me to write him one for Oxycodone. Watched him take it, he offered it to me… anyways I was hooked. Kept writing him prescriptions so he could sell and we could use. Got caught by a friend and colleague of mine. He was also a favorite professor of mine. Told me to stop taking narcotics, get back in school, and leave my boyfriend. So I did and wound up in Atlanta.” I mumbled to myself, pushing off the railing. “I guess I’ve been sober for about a year now?”

Daryl nodded his head, watching me begin towards the door and grabbed his crossbow. “Ya don’t look like all this would happen to ya. Ya don’t look like a person bad things happen to or you get involved in things like that.” I heard him mumble causing me to stop and look back at him with a small smile.

I turned back towards him, flashing him my teeth. “Too innocent looking?” I asked with a small giggle as he blushed. “C’mon. Let’s go back inside. I think we have been out here a little too long for Glenn’s liking, I’m sure.” I mumbled, grabbing his arm and pulling him along inside. “Thank you, angel, for telling me a bit about you tonight and being my listening ear.” I said, kissing his cheek once more.

He grunted, not really responding to the kiss on his cheek. “Angel? That my nickname now?” He asked, quirking a brow at me. 

I could only grin and nod my head excitedly. “That and Dare. Don’t worry though, angel will be between you and me.” I winked, about to reach for the door. 

I felt his hand on my arm, causing me to give him a questioning look. “Why? I don’t even have a nickname for you and you’re already set on those for me?” He asked, confusion lacing his voice.

I patted his hand that was on my arm, running my fingers over his rough knuckles. “You call me doll all the time, so I do have one from you. Also, I call you angel, because you are always there when I need help and you protect me. Whether it’s from walkers or bear traps. So it’s like you’re my guardian angel. The vest just only proves that even more.”

Daryl paused behind me, before letting out a light chuckle. I grinned hearing that sound as I turned my head towards him. “Angel it is.” He murmured.


	10. Kiss

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The group is struggling to find a more permanent place to stay for the winter and get supplies, but Daryl and Devin may have found temporary solution. They might have also found a way for them to stay warm on the upcoming colder months.

Cold frost blew from my open mouth as I stayed crouched behind a fallen tree. I blew hot air onto my left hand, attempting to warm it up. It had to have been about late November or early December now, and it was getting mighty cold. We needed to find a more permanent place to stay. This moving around wasn’t good for anyone, especially with how cold it has been outside. No snow, thankfully, but it was hard finding thicker coats for all of us. I was pretty lucky with my grey hoodie and now a brown leather jacket that I had found about two days ago. It was doing the job. A little hard to move with all the layers I had on, but it was working out. 

I looked to my left at the man crouched next to me. I smiled softly as the redneck fiddled with his crossbow. He looked pretty warm right now and I smiled at that. It made me let out a laugh looking at his new wardrobe. Daryl had on a long sleeved plaid shirt with sleeves attached for once, his leather vest, and a new addition that he had taken from Hershel’s farm, a horse print blanket turned poncho. Blue eyes flashed my way, making me blush, but not deterring my grin.

“What’re you laughin’ at now? Yer always laughin’ at me.” I heard his hushed gruff voice, those icy eyes trained on me. I just shook my head letting out another giggle, leaning against the tree. 

“You, Clint Eastwood. That poncho working out for you?” I asked with a grin as the man just scoffed. The corners of his mouth did pull up a bit though.

“You even old enough to know who that is?” I rolled my eyes and gave him the finger, before looking over the fallen tree we were hiding behind. Squinting my eyes to see if I could spot the buck we’d been tracking, grazing in the distance. “Ya see ‘im?

I shivered slightly, feeling Daryl’s breath on my neck as he got close to speak more quietly. “Yeah… He’s too far for me to reach with my bow though. Your crossbow should do the trick. Shoots faster and farther.” I mumbled motioning to his weapon. Daryl stood up quietly, taking aim for the grazing deer. As soon as the buck’s head popped up, Daryl shot a bolt clear through its head. It amazed me how fast he was and he barely moved to reposition his crossbow when the deer’s head popped up. Standing up I grinned wildly at the shot deer. “Nice shootin’. You’re a natural like Monco!”

Daryl gave me a look of disbelief, making me laugh as I made my way over the fallen tree, hobbling a little, and started heading towards the deer. My ankle never really did heal correctly, leaving me with a permanent limp. I could still run if I needed to and the limp didn’t bother me then, it just hurt like a bitch at the end of the night. “Yer on with this Clint Eastwood shit. How old are ya again?” He asked, following after me.

Rolling my eyes, I walked up to the deer, yanking the arrow out of the deer and handing it to Daryl. “Twenty-five Daryl. I watched those old Clint Eastwood movies with my dad.” I stuck my tongue out at him as yanked the arrow out of my hand with a glare.

“Yeah well ‘m old enough to be yer daddy. So show a lil’ respect.” He groused out, cleaning the arrow with his red rag he kept in his back pocket.

I let out a loud laugh and used my hand to stifle it a bit. I didn’t want to attract any walkers coming our way. I just earned a mean glare from Daryl and I could only smirk at him. “Is this your way of telling me you have a daddy kink, angel?” I asked, smirking even more as his face flushed scarlet. I just got a quick ‘shuddup’ as Daryl walked over to the deer giving it a look. His blue eyes went upward and he squinted a bit, pointing in front of him.

“Ya see that?” He asked as I took a stance next to him, trying to see what he was pointing at. I took a few steps forward, grinning to myself a little. It was a house. A small one, but a house none the less. Also by how it was hidden this far in the woods, it might not be ransacked either.

I tugged on Daryl’s arm, grinning wildly. “C’mon! There might be supplies in there that we could all use!” Daryl pulled back, giving me a skeptical look. 

“What about the deer… ‘an we’ve been gone a long time. Should get back to Rick. We can tell ‘im we saw it an’ come back later.” He looked between the house and the deer. I rolled my eyes walking towards the house.

“The deer will be fine, angel. Rick will be fine. Let’s just check out the house and see if there’s anything inside we can use. If we see walkers we’ll come back to the deer and make our way back to camp. It’s worth a shot. Lori’s getting big and needs new clothes all the time and I would love some new panties. You can even pick them out, daddy.” I smirked as his face flushed at the name. He eventually nodded his head reluctantly and we made our way towards the house, him cussing under his breath about my little comment. The house seemed well kempt and just a bit dusty. Like no one had lived here for years. Which was just what we needed. Daryl motioned that he’d take the back and I nodded to him, agreeing to take the front. I pulled out my gun, now equipped with a silencer, and knife in my other hand while walking up to the front porch. I loved my bow, but it was more practical to use the gun with this close of range. I had officially retired my bow for strictly hunting for food or… just long distance walker hunting. 

Opening the front door, I looked around. The house was small, only one story, and the door opened up to a hallway that seemed to have led to a living room. I heard a knock towards the back of the house and I chuckled, knowing Daryl was attracting anything that might be in the house. He’d probably scold me for not doing the same, but I waited and listened. There were a couple groans, indicating that there were indeed walkers inside and they seemed to be in the kitchen towards the back of the house. I slowly made my way into the house, wanting to help Daryl, but also looking out for any zombies who hadn’t moved to the back yet. After hearing the whizz of an arrow and the sickening sound of a knife entering decaying body, it got quiet, indicating that there was no other threat. I grinned, knowing he had successfully taken care of them and I could now focus on my surroundings without having to worry about helping him. Noticing two doors in the hall I opened one on my left first. It was a bathroom, with no sight of the dead inside. I ransacked the medicine cabinet over the sink, pulling out some Tylenol and cold medicine, throwing it in my pack before checking the door across from the bathroom, finding a closet filled with jackets, coats, and shoes. This place seemed stocked pretty good. “Devin?” I heard the man grumble from the kitchen, coming into the living room. I made my way over, smiling when I spotted him in the living room now. I gave him a thumbs up and looked down a hallway that I assumed would lead to a bedroom and possibly more closets. “C’mon.” I heard Daryl say, taking point and leading me down the hallway toward what I assumed was the bedroom. He knocked on the door, listening carefully before opening up the door and holding up his crossbow. I watched how his back tensed up and mentally cursed the poncho for hiding his arms holding up the weapon. His arms, how the muscles rippled and moved underneath his skin, that was a guilty pleasure of mine I had come to find. Watching how he moved. Lethal like a predator. His personality sucked ass sometimes with how moody he was, but every once in a while, especially if him and I got to talking, he wasn’t so bad. 

Noticing the bedroom was clear we walked in, looking around. We made our way around the small room noticing that not much of the house was turned upside down. “Think this was some vacation home?” I asked sarcastically walking to the closet to check it out.

“Seems pretty nice to me. Quiet. Away. Good huntin’ in the area.” Daryl mumbled opening up a dresser in the corner of the room. “Nice lookin’ bed.” He mumbled more quietly as he rifled through the dresser. I stopped looking in the closet and frowned at him as he started loading up his pack with a few things that could be used. His tone sounded almost sad to me, but I knew he wouldn’t want me to point it out. We stayed quiet for the most part as we packed our bags full of supplies. 

I found a nice pair of boots, checking the size, before tossing them in Daryl’s direction. He looked down at them, giving me an odd look. “You have holes in your shoes. Change ‘em up so you don’t get a cold this winter.” I said, smirking as he unlaced his old boots to put on the new ones. Standing up, I made my way out of the bedroom and to the kitchen to raid the cabinets. There were some canned fruits and spam. Bottled water was in stock too and I almost jumped for joy. We had actual food to bring back to camp with us. Hopefully us being gone longer than we should would be forgiven with everything we were bringing back.

Letting out a sigh I pushed my hair back, leaning my hands on the kitchen sink in front of me. There were no dirty dishes in the sink and it was just a little dusty. The window above the sink was dirty and needed a good dusting. Licking my thumb, I ran it against the window, wiping off dust and grimaced at the amount on my finger. I noticed movement on the other side of the window and squinted my eyes to try and see what was out there. I started to worry, looking for a rag in any of the drawers and finally wiping off the window. I spotted five walkers, stumbling about and getting pretty close to the house. “D-Daryl!” I whispered loudly, turning on my heel to look for the man. He was just coming out of the bedroom, giving me a surprised look. “We need to move. Walkers are headed our way.” I murmured, heading towards the front door, Daryl close behind me.

We both made our way out the front door, cautious when walking out. I saw the walkers at the back of the house, but I didn’t check the front. Daryl was close behind me, grabbing my arm before I continued walking. “Damnit girl, ya need to be careful.” He hissed in my ear, making me shiver. He stayed close behind me, looking around while I did the same. Coast was clear and it was time to move. I jogged out back to the woods and towards the deer we had left behind.

As we got closer to the deer, I watched as Daryl’s crossbow went up. Taking his lead, I pulled up my gun, keeping it held up and ready. I let out a small groan of disappointment watching as two walkers were feasting on the deer we had left behind. “Fuck.” I growled out, looking to Daryl next to me. He just glared at the walkers, before moving along, motioning for me to follow after him quietly. “I’m sorry…” I whispered to Daryl as we started getting away from the walkers. The man just glared at me, putting his finger over his lips. I followed close behind him, trying to gauge how he was feeling. His kill was… contaminated and now we didn’t have a deer to bring back to camp with us. I could sense anger radiating from him by how tense his shoulders were. His eyes widened as he stopped his movements and I gaped at what was in front of us. There were about fifteen walkers, headed our direction and back towards where the house and deer are. We were going to get cornered if we didn’t get moving. He grabbed my arm and pulled me back towards where we had just come from, making me worried. “D-Daryl, we’re going the wrong way!” I murmured, getting him to tell me to shut up as he tugged me along. He suddenly darted in another direction, back towards the camp and walked around a tree. He yanked off my backpack, throwing it to the ground right next to the tree along with his pack. I raised my eyebrows, spotting the crevice in the tree. It was hollow on the inside and had just enough room for us to squeeze through. I pushed through, huffing quietly as my hips got caught and then I watched as Daryl grunted, having to crouch a bit to get through. Daryl was taller and a touch bigger than I was, but he managed just fine.

My face was red at how close the two of us were. My cheek was almost pressed into his chest and I could smell him. Daryl had a particular scent. One that I found I liked more than I would ever admit. He smelled of motor oil, cigarette smoke, and pine needles, but that was being overpowered by a musky scent at this time. Probably from a lack of shower, but it was still very nice. I flinched, hearing the shuffling of feet in leaves and groaning of the walkers as they got closer. A shuddered breath escaped my lips and soon after I felt a rough, calloused hand clasp over my mouth. I looked up, eyes wide with worry as I stared into the topaz eyes in front of me. His lips were pursed, shushing me quietly, and without thinking I pressed myself to him, wrapping my arms around his lower back and holding him fiercely. He removed his hand from my mouth and stiffened under my hold, but this was the only thing I could think of to prevent myself from hyperventilating. I didn’t like being in tight enclosed spaces. I felt vulnerable here. Like I was going to die if these things noticed us. He stayed stiff and awkward, resting one hand on my left bicep gently, trying to offer comfort in the only way he knew how. His right arm held up the crossbow on his shoulder while he carefully studied the space we had squeezed through. I breathed in his scent, trying to think of anything except the shuffling of feet so close to us. 

“Doll?” I heard Daryl whisper by my ear, causing me to look up at him. He seemed a little startled at how close our faces were to each other, but he made no move to pull away. Observing his face, I flushed at how handsome he was. He was dirty. He was mean looking half the time. Yet, right now, he looks adorable with his face flushed and the uncertain look in his eye. Pulling my hands to the front of his poncho, gripping tightly, I leaned up on my tiptoes, pressing my lips to his, eyes shut tight. There was no movement from him. He was still frozen in place. It made me a little self-conscious, but I was happy he didn’t push me away. His lips were chapped, but had a softness to them. The feel of his facial hair against my chin made me want to giggle, but I held still, moving my lips ever so slightly to get a different angle. I eventually felt him respond to me. It was slow, gradual, his hand shifted slightly on my arm, caressing me there. His lips moving back against mine gently. It was like he was afraid or self-conscious of what he was doing and it was cute. Sweet even. My need for air hit me and I pulled away from Daryl, slowly, my green orbs darting between his lips and his eyes. His eyes were wide and wary, like he was watching an animal that could attack him. 

Blinking a couple times, I finally leaned back enough to give him space, becoming more aware of my surroundings. Daryl seemed to have snapped out of it too and looked out of the tree we had been hiding in. “Um, is it safe to go…” I murmured, voice husky.

His eyes flashed to me quickly, blue orbs going to my lips before he just nodded his head and clearing his throat. “Yeah. Let’s get back to camp. We’re gonna be in deep shit with Rick.” Daryl mumbled, squeezing out of the tree first before motioning for me to follow. His voice was just as thick, sending sparks up and down my spine.

I squeezed out after him, huffing as I finally pushed my hips through once again. I looked to Daryl and caught him staring at my ass and smirked. I sauntered over to him, grabbing my bag that he had dangling limply in his hand and shrugged it on, starring at his lips. “Don’t worry, angel. I’m sure he’ll understand why we were out so late.” I pressed my lips to his again, smirking as I pulled away. His ears turned bright red as he just grumbled and turned away, motioning for me to follow after him.

We made our way back to camp in silence. I hummed a tune or two, to pass the time and we eventually found our way back to the camp and to a very pissed off looking Rick. I let out a nervous huff and looked to Daryl who just brought up his thumb to his mouth, tearing at the skin. We watched Rick pace back and forth, running his hands through his hair and talking heatedly to Glenn and T-Dog. Glenn seemed to have spotted us and pointed in our direction and Rick spun wildly, looking at us. “Fuck.” The gruff sound came from Daryl, making my face crack into a smile as I let out a full laugh. Daryl peered out of the corner of his eyes towards me and I watched as his face cracked into a smile of his own. The chuckle that resonated from him afterwards made me forget how awkward we were together after our kiss. Things were well. We just had to deal with Rick.

Slowly we made our way over to the group, Rick meeting us half way. “Where the hell were you two? You were gone far too long!”

Biting my lower lip, I tried to look back at Glenn who just held his hands up in a defeated motion. “Sorry man. Went out huntin’, got a deer, then found a house an’ got supplies.” Daryl cut in, filling the silence.

“We brought back clothes… and some canned food from the house. We could have got more, but I spotted some walkers getting close to the house so we made our way back to the deer we had shot and a couple walkers were already chowin’ down. To avoid the couple walkers we had seen we started making our way back here, but had to hide because there were about twenty other walkers cutting us off from home… Had to wait for them to pass.” I filled in, face bright red as I explained what went down as I was thinking about the kiss. I was really looking forward to another kiss from him again… Hopefully it would happen sooner rather than later. 

Rick looked between the two of us, before nodding his head slowly and then shaking it ‘no’ again and sighing. “What y’all end up getting at that house?” I perked up a bit before explaining that we had gotten some clothes as well as quite a bit of canned food. At least no one would be starving for couple weeks if we could preserve this. The group seemed quite impressed with what we were able to shove into our bags. I showed Lori the thermal long sleeves I got and she just beamed at me, pulling me in a tight hug. These shirts would keep her warm and be comfortable for her growing belly. It seemed our transgression of staying out too late was forgiven. Daryl moved to his bike, avoiding the group to go pack up a bit before we got out on the road. Rick said he wanted to at least get to the next town, one that we have yet to go into, and see if there were supplies and a safe place to stay for the night. We really needed to find a place to say for more than just a night. Traveling was starting to get rough and especially with Lori, getting bigger. I was staring out at Daryl, watching him and his blue eyes flashed to me, Daryl’s face instantly turning red. Feeling my face flush as well, I just smiled to him, going back to passing out the contents of our packs before we would be getting ready to get on the road again.

We set out about an hour after Daryl and I had gotten back. I now rode with T-Dog in a nice silver truck we picked up after having to abandon my black one the month back when I hurt my ankle. Beth had offered to drive it, but Hershel didn’t approve so it was decided to just leave it. Probably a good idea, considering I couldn’t roll up the passenger’s side window due to walkers breaking it back when I was trying to get away from the farm. That broken window wouldn’t protect passengers from more walkers… so we just left it at the last house and I rode with Glenn and Maggie until we got this one. T-Dog told me now was the perfect chance for me to take a nap, which wasn’t a bad idea. I mumbled I’d take him up on the offer as my eyes drifted shut, thinking about chapped lips, motor oil, smoke, and pine needles.

A groan escaped my lips feeling my body shake. I thought I was just waking up from the truck moving so much, but the feeling of someone shaking my arm was to blame. I slowly opened my bleary eyes, vision clouded. “Time to wake up, doll. Hope ya got enough rest. We’re gonna need ya.” I heard that southern accent and smiled. 

“So what’s the plan, angel?” I asked in a whisper, sitting up more and turning by body to dangle my legs outside the truck. I noticed Daryl was close to me, trapping me in the cab of the truck. He kept his distance though, not getting too close to me. I blushed, remembering my dream for a moment before shaking my head and tying up my hair. 

Daryl noticed my blush and his cheeks flashed pink as well. “Jus got here about ten minutes ago. We’re gonna look round town. See what we can find. Plannin on stayin here the night.” He explained, taking a few steps back, allowing me to hop down. I grabbed my bow, slinging it around myself then tucking my gun into the back of my pants.

Turning back to him, I smiled, nodding my head in the direction of the group. “Well, then let’s get to work.” My grin widened and I moved past him, towards the group. I found out that Rick had spotted storage units in town and wanted us to check them out. They could hold valuable items inside and supplies to keep us warm. We were about two blocks away and would walk there, checking out small shops along the way. The whole group would be moving together and once we got to the storage units, Rick, Daryl, and T-Dog would check out the lot they were on before moving everyone else inside to start opening them up.

We trekked towards the storage units, checking out the area around us. It was a nice town… the only thing that worried me was the fact that I hadn’t spotted any walkers yet. To some, that would be a good thing, but to me that was not the case with me. It just meant trouble was around the corner… bigger trouble. We had been trying to keep ahead the walker heard since we left the farm and no matter our efforts, there was no end in sight. I noticed Glenn wanted to check out a few stores, but Rick told him once we checked out these storage containers we could come back to these ones. We just needed to take note of these stores and head back to them at a later time. We had finally reached our destination, promptly named “Store It All”. It advertised to have storage lockers on the inside of the building in front of us and even had storage lockers inside a fenced off area out behind said building. Sadly, that fence looked like it had better days. This could be a pretty treat for us, especially if the units had warmer clothes and blankets. Looking up at the building I grinned, jabbing my thumb at it. “Alright boys. Get at it. We could have our own storage wars like what used to be on T.V.” I heard a laugh from T-Dog as he held his crowbar, gun at his hip, ready to get to work. 

Rick nodded his head, motioning for Daryl to follow him and gave Glenn, Maggie, and I a stern look. “Keep good watch. If there’s a problem, come inside for help. Hopefully we can clear this place out quickly and get back with y’all.”

It really didn’t take long at all for them. The three went inside and about twenty minutes later they all came back outside to tell us we were all clear. When everyone moved inside, Daryl secured the door behind us, telling us there were three entrances/exits to the building, one of which was blocked off with desks, chairs, and other office furniture, the door that led to the outside storage units was locked and then wrapped with a chain and lock around the handles, and then the front entrance we waited outside was broken, glass was everywhere, but the door he was currently locking up was what led to the storage units. Rick’s plan was for us to open one storage unit at a time, slowly to make sure that nothing could hurt us, and Carl suggested that this is a place where we could stay tonight… or even as more of a solution for us to stay for the winter. Rick had nodded his head slowly at the comment, obviously thinking about it, but not saying no. Rick seemed impressed though, so things were looking up.

After clearing out a couple of the storage units, we were able to set our packs down and set up. The Grimes were in one unit, Beth and Hershel in another, Glenn and Maggie, T-Dog in one by himself, Daryl in another by himself, and then Carol and I decided we would share one. We had opened them up in a zig-zag motion, that way we all still had privacy, but were able to keep tabs on each other from the unit openings. We were settling in for the night after moving our vehicles closer to the building. People would still have to keep watch at all times, but hopefully we were safe enough to where we would be able to actually rest instead of stress out the whole watch.

By the time I had my sleeping bag rolled out and ready with blankets that we had found, emptying out the 6 storage units I was beat and ready for bed. I even had a nap today and was still so tired. All this moving and running around was really taking its toll. On all of us. Daryl and Rick were taking first watch, then Glenn and Maggie agreed to take second watch tonight. I was told I’d be on first for tomorrow night with T-Dog. Seemed like we were going to be staying for a while, and I was just happy about that.

Cracking open my eyes, I let out a small groan, stretching in my new bed. It was damn comfortable I had to admit. I looked over to my bunkmate, smiling as she was still sleeping. It was quiet, making me wonder what time it was. Sitting up, I rubbed my eyes staring out across the way at the still closed off unit. I leaned my back against the stone wall, keeping warm as I listened to the soft snores around me. It made me grin at the sound. Some real rest for the first time in months. 

My grin widened, watching a tall figure saunter into my line of sight. Daryl had his bow over his shoulder, shoulders sagged, and a tired look in his eye. I heard Glenn’s voice along with Rick’s. They must finally be trading off. Here I thought it was already morning. I began to stand up which caught Daryl’s attention. I gave him a sheepish smile as he paused a moment, eyeing me skeptically. I was still in jeans, but had abandoned my sweatshirt and usual long sleeves for a tanktop. At least I was warm enough under my mini mountain of blankets. I watched as his eyes flashed over me, eyeing the now visible tattoos on my shoulders and the one on my chest over my heart. I walked over to him, looking towards the front of the building and spotting Rick going inside his unit. Maggie kissed Glenn gently while he walked towards the doors. Maggie turned and spotted me next to Daryl, smirking and giving me a soft wave before joining Glenn. I turned back to Daryl who eyed me a moment, his teeth playing with the skin on his lower lip before walking towards his unit. I followed after him, watching him set his bow down.

“Ain’t ya cold, doll?” He asked me as he rolled out his sleeping bag. His unit just had his things in the corner and now he was finally setting up. I was hoping tomorrow when we opened more units we’d find mattresses in them. Those would be a lot better than the cold floor, but I wasn’t complaining with how many blankets we had found. I hummed as a response to his question, grabbing the blankets we had left him and unfolding them, tossing them on top of his sleeping bag. He didn’t have much, but we were lucky to find a couple comforters. The grimes got one and then Hershel and Beth got the other one. The group then decided to give it to Daryl since he let everyone have first go of everything we had found today in the units. I left that one folded, figuring he’d want that one to cover up in. “Why’re you up anyway? Early mornin’. Three or so.” He stifled a yawn, watching me move about. Standing up straight, he stopped me, hand on my left arm as he starred at the tattoo there. It was a pastel colored geometric allspice flower with a tree above it, roots reaching down to the flower while the top was green with life. 

I blushed as he observed it, pulling my hair off of my shoulder a bit so he could get a better look. “It’s the tree of life above an allspice flower… The flower represents compassion, what I need while I care for patients, and the tree of life represents heaven and hell… balance. Life and death.” I murmured as his eyes met mine. He traced it gently, his rough pointer finger almost teasing my skin. He then moved me to face him, tugging down the left strap along with my bra, startling me. It was just so he could see the tattoo better. He blushed himself, murmuring a quick sorry as he realized what he had done. I cleared my throat looking up into his eyes. “I’ve explained this one before…” I murmured, watching as his eyes flashed from the tattoo to my own eyes. 

“I know.” He whispered as he traced the heart rhythm with his finger, making me turn bright red. Cocking his head to the side, the corner of his mouth quirked upward. “So you like flowers?” He asked, making me let out a small giggle.

I only shook my head, licking my lower lip. “I blame my mom. She loved flowers so I guess it rubbed off on me.” I spoke low, grinning at him. “No more flowers, I promise.” I brought myself closer to him, making him stiffen only slightly. 

Daryl’s blue orbs flashed to my lips, causing my body to flush. “You have more?” He asked, causing me to nod my head slowly.

“One on my thigh.” I mumbled watching as his eyes flashed downward before going back to my lips. “You want to see it?” I asked, smirking lightly as he quirked a brow at me. I licked my lips, leaning into him, my breath on his ear. “You’ll have to take my pants off.” I let out a small laugh as his face turned bright red and looked away from me. I placed a finger on his chin, making him look back at me. I looked to his lips then back up to his eyes, pleading him silently to kiss me. How sappy was that? 

I watched as his tongue ran over his lips before pressing them to mine. I was shocked honestly. I didn’t think he’d make the first move, so I didn’t respond initially to the kiss. He pulled back away quickly, anger suddenly crossing his face. “That was stupid.” He growled, more to himself than anything. It almost made me laugh as it was my turn to lean forward and press my lips to his now. He stayed still as I was the one pressing my lips to his, willing him to react in some way, like how he was mad at me for not moving. He did eventually kiss me back. Still slow, unsure, but steady. It was fun. Exhilarating even. It made me almost nervous that Carol could wake up and spot us from across the way. My back was up against the wall of the unit, with him hovering in front of me, trapping me there. 

I started to feel bold now. Kissing was fun. This was fun. I hadn’t kissed anyone in a little over a year, so this was nice. I wanted just a little bit more now. Just a taste. I darted out my tongue, running it over his bottom lip slowly, trying to convince him to let me in. Feeling Daryl pull away, I pouted, looking at him for a sign as to why he pulled back. My chest was heaving, wanting him pressed back against my lips and against me. He wasn’t flat out telling me no to this. He must be enjoying this too… It’s something. Any-. 

My thoughts were cut off when he pressed his body against mine, kissing me deeply. This time his tongue ran across my bottom lip and I opened my mouth, allowing him entrance. Our tongues tentatively played with each other before I started fighting for dominance, pushing back and caressing his tongue with mine. I began to wind my arms around his neck, hands snaking into his hair, tugging at the base of his neck. Daryl’s hands had already found a home on my hips, squeezing every so often, and thumbs running small circles over my hip bones. I felt like I couldn’t get close enough to this man. I bit his bottom lip, causing him to groan quietly and he pulled away. His pupils were blown and had a hungry look to them. I was panting hard, my chest rising and falling deeply, and my breasts hit his chest with every inhale. Suddenly there were too many clothes between us in my mind. Woah? What kind of thought was that?

I watched as he stifled a yawn and giggled, pulling back a little bit more now. “What, am I boring now?” I asked, faking offence. His face paled as he stammered to correct himself, but I cupped his cheek, making him look at me, a huge grin on my face. “Don’t worry, angel. I’m not really mad. You’ve been working hard so I’ll give you some time to rest. We can continue this another time.” I winked, biting my lip as his cheeks turned red again. I dropped my hand from his chin, turning on my heel and replacing the strap on my shoulder he had failed to fix himself. As I walked away I looked back at him, rubbing a hand over my ass, patting the muscle gently, licking my lips teasingly. I had to stop myself from laughing at the sight of his jaw hitting the ground.


	11. Temporary Chapter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Updates...

This is literally an update. I have finished my HARDEST semester and school and my LAST. So ya girl graduated!! While I will now have tons of free time between looking for a job on my career path and studying for state boards for said career path, I will be getting back into writing this story. I will need to reread my last chapter... and cringe on how bad it is, but the writing will keep going and hopefully pick up the pace a little bit. Also... I will probably be writing another story seeing as how I am obsessed with Winter Soldier right now as well. So be on the look out for the next few weeks/this month, for a new chapter!!

~I.W.


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